Snape or Potter
by SnapeFanatic1
Summary: Snape receives a surprise that will change his life forever. Set at the end of the fourth book. Rated T just to be on the safe side. May contain DH spoilers! This story has a bit of a bite to it. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Snape's Surprise**

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, ok? It never was. I'm not as rich as she is, and plus she lives in England and I don't. Ok? So don't sue me.

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Snape waited quietly while Dumbledore finished up his speech on Diggory. The Great Hall was unusually quiet, but he supposed that a student had just died.

Not really paying attention to the speech, Snape's gaze wandered around the hall. Every once in a while he caught sight of someone crying. His gaze settled on the Gryffindor Table. Scanning the table, he saw that Potter was sitting between his two friends. Snape glared as the teen stared up at him. He knew the boy was upset about the Triwizard tournament, but Snape found no sympathy for Potter. The teen's face slowly left his and returned to look at Dumbledore's. Snape too returned Dumbledore's gaze. The speech ended on a "To Cedric Diggory," with glasses raised. Snape noticed with disgust that Draco, along with many other Slytherins, hadn't raised their glasses at all.

Snape remained seated while the great hall emptied. Looking around, he noticed that not many of the staff were left at the table. With a flourish of robes, he left the table and headed to his office. Not wanting to run into any students, he took a side passage.

After reaching his office, he swept over to the pensieve that currently lay in the corner behind his desk. There were some memories that he had to get out of his head. His return to the Dark Lord was one of them. Snape knew that if it hadn't been for occlumency, he would already be dead.

The interrogation by the Dark Lord hadn't gone well, but Snape hadn't really expected it to.

XXXXXFlashbackXXXXX

Snape arrived with a crack in the cemetery. It seemed that everyone else had left. Only Pettigrew and the Dark Lord remained. It was hard to believe that the Dark Lord was back.

The red eyes glittered as he stared into them. Cold waves of fury were coming off the Dark Lord. Even Pettigrew seemed to feel it. " So," the Dark Lord said in a harsh tone no more than a whisper, "You have finally shown up."

" Yes, my Lord, I have," replied Snape as he continued to maintain eye contact, knowing that breaking it could be seen as weakness.

The cold whisper continued, "But why so late I wonder, is it because you fear the Dark Lord? Or are you just returning on Dumbledore's orders?" The voice raised with fierce malice.

Keeping a blank look on his face, Snape replied in an expressionless voice, "Oh, Dumbledore thinks I arrived here on his orders. I would have been here sooner, but I was sure that you didn't want to lose you spy at Hogwarts."

"Hmm, we shall see, Severus, what your true intentions were," whispered the Dark Lord before shouting, "Legilamens!" Fortunately, Snape had been ready for this. The Dark Lord may have thought that he was getting into Snape's secrets, but Snape only gave him the memories he wanted the Dark Lord to see. Finally, it came to a stop. The Dark Lord seemed almost, but not quite, satisfied with what he had seen. Snape could see it in his blood-red eyes that the worst of the interrogation was yet to come.

With a flick of the Dark Lord's wand, two chairs appeared, one slightly better than the other. "Sit down, Severus, we have a lot to talk about before I let you leave here alive," whispered Voldemort, "You have a lot of explaining to do. Wormtail!" snapped the Dark Lord, "Bring me the Veritaserum!"

"Yes, my lord," whimpered Wormtail as he retreated into the shadows, only to return a minute later with a crystal vial filed with a clear potion.

Severus wasn't worried when the Dark Lord had performed the legilimency. Blocking him out had been easy. But that little vial worried him. He knew how to fight it, but that didn't mean that something couldn't slip out in the process. Without a word, Wormtail passed the bottle to the Dark Lord before disappearing behind a tombstone.

With a glint in his eyes, Voldemort looked up at Severus and, in a cold voice, said, "Now, Severus, you shall answer all my questions, and we will see where your loyalties lie." Snape took the bottle when the Dark Lord handed it to him. Without a word or another glace at the Dark Lord, he drank it in one gulp.

The questions that Dark Lord asked were all simple ones, but if he had truly been under the potion the first question would have ended his life. To Snape's relief, the potion was an old one, and this potion was one of the few that weakened with age. And by the time the potion had completely worn off, the Dark Lord had seemed pleased with his answers.

XXXXXFlashbackXXXXXX

At least, Snape thought, the Dark Lord hadn't resorted to torture. But that wouldn't have made any real difference. He knew that he could handle torture, but he was wary of the Killing Curse. He still had some things in his life that he had to get straightened out.

Weeks Later

Snape sat behind his desk grading essays when there came an unfamiliar tapping at the door. Sighing, he got up from his work and opened the door. He had expected to see the Headmaster standing outside his door with that godforsaken twinkle in his eye. However, to his utmost surprise, a black screech owl flew in, dropped a letter on his desk, and flew out again. Snape couldn't help but gawk slightly at the bird. Snape rarely received mail, not that there weren't people who wanted to talk to him. Usually, though, when someone wanted a word he was usually contacted in a manner that burned his forearm. Recovering from the sight, he walked over to his desk to reed the letter.

The only explanation that he could come up with was that it was from a parent of some stupid child that hadn't gotten a good grade in his class. He was surprised to find that the handwriting that had written his name was oddly familiar. Without any more hesitation he ripped open the letter to read:

_Dear Severus,_

_I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused you when I married James. I've always wished that we could have at least ended on better terms. _

_You must forgive yourself for giving Voldemort that part of the prophecy. I know that you wouldn't have given him that information if you had known that it was my family that he would have go after. I know that nothing I say is going to make a difference, but you have to forgive yourself eventually. _

_If you are reading this letter, Voldemort must have come back, and James and I didn't survive, but perhaps Harry did. After we got the warning, I decided that if we died, but Harry survived, he would go first to my sister's house. However, if Voldemort ever came back for him, both James and I (yes, James agreed with this, and it was partly his idea) agreed that Harry would be safer with you. The documents should be arriving shortly after this letter. _

_But there is another reason behind this. Sev, I don't know if you have figured it out yet, but you're Harry's biological father. I don't know how old Harry is right now, but at around fifteen (give or take a month), the potions I gave him will start to wear off. The only thing that will stay the same is his eyes, for they have always been green. I hope you can learn to love him. _

_Love,_

_Lily_

Snape sat, stunned. How could he be the brat's father? He thought back to when he had done what she had asked. Only this once, she had told him, no one will ever know, what's the worst that could happen? Even then, Snape knew that a baby was the worst that could happen. But that had been what she had been wanting, too. She had told him that she and James had been trying for over a year.

He couldn't believe how stupid he had been back then. He should have known that something would have come of that night. He looked over the letter again, wondering what potion she had used. There were many that could change one's appearance, but there was none that he could think of that would make one resemble someone else and hold for fifteen years. It must have been something that she invented.

Snape had to find out. He stood up and, with a flourish of robes and a grimace on his face, he grabbed the letter and left his office. He swiftly made his way up to the headmaster's office. Maybe he will know what to do, Snape thought as he came to the gargoyle outside of the headmaster's office. "Peppermint humbugs," Snape snapped to the gargoyle. Seconds later, he reached the office, knocked and entered.

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Hey I would like to thank PointBlank1 who is srtanding behind me and is crorrecting my grammer and tell ing me that it is so important that she is standing behind me. These sentences are an exaple of my horrible grmmar and me treying to type fast and failing to do so. So please Review!!! Oh go to PointBlank1's story and Review it. 


	2. Ch2 Explanations and Exaggerations

**Chapter 2**

**Explanations and Exaggerations**

**Disclaimer: None of it is mine.**  
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_Maybe he will know what to do, Snape thought as he came to the gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office." Peppermint humbugs," Snape snapped to the gargoyle. Seconds later he reached the office, knocked and entered. _

Snape looked around the office to see that Dumbledore wasn't there. Not wanting to wait and have to come back later he decided to sit in front of the desk and wait. He did not have to wait long, however, it wasn't Dumbledore that entered, it was Minerva McGonagall.

"Severus what are you doing here?" Minerva said in her brisk voice.

"I could ask the same question, Minerva, however, I am here to speak to the Headmaster," Snape replied a silky voice.

"Well I too wanted to speak with him, but I think I'll comeback later," McGonagall said in a voice that suggested that she didn't really want to leave.

Fortunately at that moment Professor Dumbledore walked in caring a bag of lemon drops. Without a word Dumbledore crossed the room and deposited the bag in a drawer before sitting down behind his desk. After shuffling a few papers he entwined his fingers and looked over to where McGonagall was standing and asked, "What can I do for you Minerva?"

"Albus, I just wanted to let you know that the minister was here earlier wanting a word with you." McGonagall said in almost a whisper.

"I'll write to him after I finish talking with Severus. If that is all, I will see you later at dinner." Albus said in a tone that suggested that he clearly wanted her to go. With another glance at Snape she left.

Turning back to Snape Dumbledore spoke, "What is it that you wanted to talk about Severus; I really need to go see the minister before he does something that is irrational."

With a smirk Snape handed the letter over to Dumbledore and said, "I got this earlier today. What do you make of it?"

Dumbledore read through the letter twice before taking out his wand and tapping it. Nothing happened. "Well it definitely authentic, Severus," he said finally.

Severus had already been pretty sure of that and he didn't need a spell to confirm it. "So what should we do? From what Lily says it sounds like the potion could wear off any day now," whispered Snape.

"Here Severus have a lemon drop."Said Dumbledore as he brought out the bag and took one before holding it out to Snape.

With a grimace Severus reached over and took a lemon drop. He really did like them it was just that there were other sweets that were better then the common, muggle lemon drops.

"First things first we need to get Harry out of the Dursley's house, before the potion begins to wear off. It would not do either of you any good if the potion were to wear off while he is there for a death eater could notice." Dumbledore eyed Severus over his half moon spectacles while he said this.

"That's all fine and dandy Headmaster, but what are we going to do with the boy once we get him out of that place. He surely can't come here?"

"No Severus, your right he can't come here. He must go to Grimmauld Place, at least there we can keep an eye on him before he gets himself in real trouble. According to Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley he seems to be getting more frustrated with being stuck at his Aunts house.

"I don't blame him Headmaster, his Aunt is a truly despicable person and her husband is no better," Snape said snidely.

"Be that as it may it is still the safest place for him as long as he can still call them his family, and after this summer he will only have to return there twice more," Dumbledore looked out of the window as he said this to see a brown screech owl coming towards them.

Snape eyed the owl wearily as it deposited an official looking letter in front of the Headmaster. Once relieved of its burden it flew once around the room, hooted softly and flew out the window. Snape watched in silence as the Headmaster broke the seal and read the letter. Snape watched as the Headmasters eyes traveled down the page. From what Snape saw of the Headmaster this wasn't a joyful greeting from a friend. Sighing the headmaster finished the letter and handed it to Snape to read,

_To Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,__Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards,_

_We are here to inform you that a certain underage wizard that attends your school, a Mr. Harry Potter, has been caught using magic outside of school and in the clear view of a muggle. Until further notice he has been expelled for breaking the underage wizardry law._

_Representatives will be by his place shortly to snap his wand. If you would like to vouch for a hearing please reply immediately. _

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper Use of Magic Office _

_Ministry __of Magic_

Snape couldn't believe what he was seeing. The boy had used magic in front of a muggle? He knew the boy was stupid, but to do magic outside of school, there had to be a reason for it.

Snape looked over at Dumbledore to see that he was writing a letter that, Snape assumed, would be for Fudge appealing for a hearing. Dumbledore finished with a flourish of his quill and called Fawkes to him, handed the letter to the fiery, red bird before turning back to Snape.

"Well it appears that Harry has gotten himself into trouble, it seems to follow the boy every where." Dumbledore sighed as he took off his glasses to wipe them on his robes. "I need to go to the ministry Severus to see if I can sort some of this out. I'll need you to go to Grimmauld Place and let everyone know the situation. While you are there see about working out a plan to get Harry to Grimmauld Place safely. We will discuses the situation between you and Harry when he is safely at there."

"Alright, Headmaster, I'll go to Grimmauld Place and see if we can come up with a way to get Mr. Potter out of that house."

"Very well, Severus." Dumbledore said as he stood up and made his way over to the fireplace. "I'll see you at Grimmauld Place later." With that he threw some floo powder in the fire, steeped in and with a shout, "Ministry of Magic" and he was gone.

Snape sat there for a moment thinking the letter over in his head. The Headmaster hadn't helped him out much; Snape still had no idea what to do with the boy. Maybe it would be possible to replicate the potion? He thought over different potions and their ingredients, but nothing popped out at him. I guess I'll just have to find a way to deal with it. But it's not like this changes anything, he's still a brat with an over sized head.

With a sigh Snape stood up, picked up Lily's letter and left the office. He made his way back down the moving stairs and his way towards the Entrance Hall.

Once outside he headed for the front gates, he looked over Lily's letter again before placing it in an inside pocket of his robes. Taking out his wand, he opened the gates with a flick and with another flick of his wand the gates closed behind him. Then with a crack, he was gone.

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**Authors Note: **Please review, it's the only way that I'll know if I made any mistakes. I hope to have the next chapter out before Friday, but I'm not promising anything. 


	3. Ch 3 Why Me?

**Chapter 3**

**Why Me??**

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry or Snape or any of that if I did I wouldn't be here writing this trust me. So don't sue cause I ain't got nothing. And ain't is so to a word. 

**Author's Note: **Hey all you People reading this; you do realize that the more reviews I get the faster I am likely to write. So if you like it REVIEW, if you don't REVIEW. Now enjoy this new Chapter, it's hot off the press. Ouch! Burnt my fingers again, stupid press!

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_Taking out his wand, he opened the gates with a flick and with another flick of his wand the gates closed behind him and with a crack he was gone. _

With a crack similar to that of a whip Snape appeared on a sidewalk outside of Grimmauld Place. Snape looked up and down the street before making his way across. The last thing he needed was to be hit by a car. He could just see it now, front page, Severus Snape Killed in Car Crash, yeah that was the way to go, he smirked at the thought. Quickly and silently he made his way up the step to the front door.

Drawing out his wand he taped the door before entering. He swiftly made his way in side, shutting the door with a silent thud before again tapping it to reapply the secrecy spells.

Looking down the hallway Snape saw that there was a glow coming from under the kitchen door. God I've been here to often, I know that it's the stupid kitchen. He made his way there moving as silently as possible. Not that he really needed to here, but it was just the fashion in which he liked to walk. He was just about to reach out to push the door in when he heard someone mention his name. He stopped to listen

"Just got a notice from Dumbledore, were to be expecting Severus here any minute," Snape thought it was Arthur, but he wasn't sure until he heard the reply.

"You know Arthur it would have been nice to have been given more notice. I could have made up some soup or something," muttered Molly.

"He wouldn't take it," sighed Arthur.

Not hearing anything of interest Snape entered.

Sitting around a dark, wooden table was Arthur and Molly Weasley along with one of her sons was it Fred or George? He didn't really care they were both pretty much the same.

"Speak of the devil." Said Arthur.

Severus sneered. "I am only here, Arthur to inform you on what has become of the famous Harry Potter."

"If you haven't already heard, which I doubt you have, Mr. Potter has been expelled, for the meantime. He was caught using magic in the presence of a muggle." Severus paused to let it sink in. He didn't have to wait long for a reaction.

Molly dropped the glass that she had been holding, Arthur fell out of his chair and Fred or George or whomever gaped at him with a spoon or some white mush halfway to his mouth.

Severus cleared his throat before he continued. "The good news," Severus eyes glinted at the happy though of Mr. Potter being expelled, "is that the Headmaster has gone to the Ministry to appeal for a hearing for Mr. Potter. In the mean time we are to come up with a plan to get the boy away from his aunt and uncle." As a second thought he added, "Does anyone have any ideas? No, well I was thinking that we would send a group of people over to pick up the brat and then bring him here."

Silence followed. Severus looked around waiting for someone to speak before he decided to trudge on. "I'm going to let you, Arthur come up with the finer details of this little plan. I have other business to attend to, tell the Headmaster that he can reach me at Hogwarts, he should be along shortly. I suggest you start working on who is going to pick up the boy and when it should happen. The Headmaster would like it to happen soon so I suggest you hurry up with the details."

Severus smirked as he looked at the Weasley's bemused expressions, before turning on his heal and leaving.

Once outside he apperated to the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, and entered. He had forgotten that it was Friday night. He looked around seeing how full the pub was and pushed his way through to the entrance to Diagon Alley.

Pulling out his dark, black wand he tapped the bricks that would reveal the entrance to Diagon Alley. Once there he tucked his wand back up his sleeve and pushed on.

There were two places he wanted to stop my before heading back. First he wanted to go to Gringotts to see if they could tell him more about Lily's letter and second he wanted to visit the local potions store to replenish his stores.

It didn't take him long to reach Gringotts, even though the streets were crowded, most people gave him a wide berth and those who didn't, well they never made that mistake again. He made his way up the marble stairs and entered the snowy, white building.

Once inside he looked around to see if there was any available goblin. Unfortunately there wasn't, he was going to have to wait. This didn't bode well with Severus. He didn't mind waiting it was just that he didn't want to run into anyone here. And he really hated running into people.

Fortunately it wasn't long before there was a goblin open. The creature glanced up as Severus neared.

"What may I do for you, sir?" asked the Goblin.

Severus reached in his pocket before answering, pulling gout the letter that he had gotten from Lily.

"I was wondering if you could confirm this," Severus asked in a quiet silky voice. "I need to know if what she says here is true." He handed over the letter.

The goblin looked down his long pointed nose and read the it. After a moment the goblin answered, "Are you wanting to confirm that you are, Mr…"

"Don't say the name out loud, I don't want the whole world know," snapped Snape.

"the boys father?" the goblin continued without even blinking at the interruption.

"Yes, that and to take some money out of my vault," replied Snape sulkily.

"Follow me," replied the goblin

Snape followed the goblin from the hall through a small black side door. The room Snape entered was pitch black. He couldn't have seen his fingers even if they had been right in front of his face. Severus heard the Goblin snap his fingers and Severus saw torches along the wall lighting with blue flames.

The room was small compared to the hall they had just been in and it was some what circular. On the far side of the room sat three basins. Each was a different color of marble. The basin on the right was white, the middle one was black and the third basin was gold in color.

The goblin turned to Snape and said, "Welcome to the room of Relations. Here we can find out if you are related to the Potter boy. If you'll please step in front of the black basin we will begin."

Snape walked in front of the black basin and was surprised to see silver and gold vapor swirling in it. It wasn't liquid, but it wasn't a gas either it was very similar to the material that resided inside the pensive. It's sort of beautiful in a way, Snape thought.

The goblin took out Lily's letter and laid it beside the basin. Snape listened while the goblin began to chant in a language that Snape wasn't familiar with. He thought it was some form of Mirmish for it sounded weirdly out of place and hurt his ears slightly.

The goblin picked up Lily's letter and set it in the basin, it floated on the surface while the goblin continued to chant in a weird undertone. The vapors or what ever it was turned from silver and gold to blue and red and then changed again to green and purple.

Snape had no idea what was going on, he knew that eventually he would have to give the goblin sample of his blood. But he had no idea when that was supposed to be. He waited and watched as the colors in the basin changed again to a pearl blue.

He felt like he had been standing there for an eternity.

Finally the goblin turned to him, still chanting, and handed him a gold dagger. Indicating what he wanted him to do Snape drew up his sleeve. He pressed the sharp point into his wrist and watched as his blood seeped out. The goblin held up three fingers, which Snape took as to mean that he was to drop three drops of blood into the basin.

Snape held his wrist over the basin and counted as the blood dripped in. He removed his wrist before more could drip in and sealed his it with a simple wandless healing spell.

Snape watched as the material turned a shade of a dark shade of green. He had no idea what that meant, but he had a feeling that it wasn't good news. He noticed that different words in the letter were flashing different colors as well. He watched fascinated by it.

Then without warning the basin exploded in a blast of gold and silver color. Lily's letter was blasted out of the basin and Snape watched as the goblin caught it. The goblin glanced at it and nodded for him to back away. They headed to the door.

Before he reached it the goblin turned to him and said in a whisper, "You are indeed the boys father, sorry." The goblin added it as an after thought, not really meaning it. For the goblin didn't really care.

Snape stood frozen on the spot. He would have stood there longer thinking over the knowledge that he had just been dealt when the goblin interrupted his them.

"Now if you'll follow me sir, we can visit your vault. Key please."

His last hope was gone. He knew that the letter had been from her, but he had hoped that just maybe there had been a mistake. He couldn't believe it. He was actually the father to that brat.

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**What is Snape going to do now that it is indeed confirmed that he is Harry's father? Will he keep it from the boy? Will he tell him? Find out in the next chapter.**

** Please press the little blue and review. I would really love to hear what you have to say.****  
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	4. Ch 4 Meetings

**Chapter 4**

** Meetings **

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry, Snape or any of the Harry Potter characters. I don't own anything. Rowling makes the money, I don't. 

**Author's Note: **I would like to thank everyone who reviewed especially the-dreamer4 and risi, who caught my mistakes. I'm not feeling great and I think I might me coming down with something, but don't worry, only death could keep be from writing. Please Review, I would really like to know what you think. I can't read your minds so let me know what is in them.

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_His last hope was gone. He knew that the letter had been from her, but he had hoped that just maybe there had been a mistake. He couldn't believe it. He was actually the father to that brat. _

After finishing up at Gringotts, Snape made his way to the local potions supplier.

Buying ingredients was usually something that he enjoyed some what, but today he didn't feel the least bit interested in the ingredients that were neatly lined up on the shelves. After replenishing his boomslang skin and various other potions he apperated to the grounds outside of Hogwarts.

With a crack he appeared outside the gates. He looked up into the sky and noticed that he could see the stars. With a sigh he started walking up the grounds. It was quiet. Almost to quiet for Snape's liking not that he enjoyed noise it was just that there were usually more noise then there was.

He had almost reached the front doors when a faint glow appeared in front them. As Snape neared, the light brightened, and a phoenix appeared. It was Dumbledore's patronus.

Snape stopped in front of it, and it began to speak in Dumbledore's calm voice. "Snape, I thought that you were going to meet me here at Grimmauld Place. There are some things that we need to discuss. And by we I mean me, you and the rest of the Order. I expect you to be here in ten minutes." Severus blinked and the bird was gone.

Severus cursed under his breath. He hated Order meetings. Most of the time they seemed completely pointless, but he would have to go, Dumbledore had made that clear.

Severus figured that he could deposit his new ingredients and make it outside the grounds with plenty of time to spare. He made his way through the Entrance Hall and headed down towards the dungeons. He stopped in front of a picture of a caldron bubbling and said, "Bezoar." The painting slide open.

He felt rather than knew that someone was in there. He silently withdrew his wand and held it out in front of him. Not being one to take unnecessary risks he muttered a simple spell to reveal who was in his private chambers.

A greenish mist appeared at the tip of his wand and it slowly formed two words, _Lucius Malfoy. _Well at least it was someone that he could deal with easily, maybe he would be lucky and it would be something about the school or Draco.

Still holding his wand out in front of him he entered his living room. The first thing he noticed was that there was a fire lit in the hearth, he decided to take that as a good sign. But he was still cautious.

Snape sneered, "Why hello Lucius."

"Ah, Severus, I'm glad you have finally made it back," drawled Malfoy.

Severus just stared at the man as he continued.

"Right I'm going to get right down to business. You see I have to get back home, were expecting guests, some rather old friends of mine. Anyway I'm here to inform you that the Minister has decided to take matters into his own hands. He's assigning Dolores Umbridge his Undersecretary to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I did try my hardest to push your name through, Severus, but the Minister wanted to keep you at your post as the Potions Professor." Malfoy drowned on about how Dolores was going to handle the class and it seemed that he was never going to stop.

Severus was only partially listing to it now. Didn't he say he had to get back soon. God if he doesn't finish soon I'm going to be late for the Order meeting. Not that it's going to be important, but I don't need to be told off by Dumbledore. I hope he sums it up here soon I really don't need to hear the in's and out's of every single Defense teacher. And then finally it seemed that Malfoy was wrapping it up.

"Oh Severus, I almost forgot, He knows there is going to be an Order meeting tonight, and He wants you to report to him after it's over." Malfoy grimaced at the thought.

Severus didn't need to ask who He was, Severus knew. But he was surprised that the Dark Lord had known about the meeting. He couldn't think of anyone that would have told him.

Severus snapped out it and turned to Malfoy, "Well if that is all Lucius, I really need to be going and I'm sure that you need to get back to welcome your guests."

"Yes, it does seem to be getting rather late, I guess I'll see you later then," said Malfoy. And with that he got up picked up his cane and left.

Severus turned to watch him go before heading to the door himself. Before he pushed it open, however, he decided that he needed to change his password. Bezoar really was to easy. Even a first year could have guessed that. He decided he would use something that wasn't potions related. He cast around trying to come up with a password that no one could guess he would choose. He decided to go with Lily. No one but Dumbledore knew and he didn't think that he would guess it and with that he headed back towards the Entrance Hall.

Severus made his way swiftly across the grounds to the gate. Once the gates were open he closed them and cast another ward on it then. They would let him know who entered the gates so that he would never be taken by surprise again.

Once he was satisfied he turned on his heal and with a crack he was gone.

He arrived at Grimmauld Place with a minute to spare and Severus was surprised at this. He thought that Malfoy had talked for longer then that. With a sigh he entered the all to familiar house of Black.

He hated this house. He hated the Man who owned it and every thing about it. It was old and dusty and Severus just couldn't stand it. He had already been here once and that had been more then enough for him.

He made his way to the kitchen where the meeting was being held. He heard several voices all of them seemed to be involved in there own little conversations. With a grimace he entered. The room was crowed with several Order members. On the left side of the table there was Tonks, Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody and Arthur and Molly Weasley. At the head of the table sat Dumbledore who was in a deep conversation with Kingsley, who was on his left. Next to Kingsley sat Mundungus, Black and McGonagall.

Severus took his usual seat across from Dumbledore and waited for him to call the meeting to order. It was going to be a long night.

The meeting was mainly about getting the Potter brat away from the Durseley's house. Severus had figured that it wasn't going to be that hard and that only a few people were needed to pick up the brat, but Black insisted that a whole mess of people go to pick him up and to Severus's dismay Dumbledore agreed. What made the evening even worse was that Snape was chosen to go along with the rest to pick the brat up.

"Headmaster I really don't think that I need to be there to pick up the boy, I mean really I have better things to do then to baby-sit Potter," Snape spat out Potter as though it was a watermelon seed.

"Severus I want you to be part of the guard. Harry needs the best protection that he can get. And if you were there I'm sure things would be more likely to go smoothly." Dumbledore spoke in a clam voice that irritated the heck out of Severus and the man's god forsaken eyes would not stop twinkling.

"Fine I'll go headmaster, but only if I get to pick who goes I for one won't stand for anyone who's going to get in my way." Snape said in a silky voice as he glanced at Black.

All Black could do was stare at him, it seemed that words had failed him. Good Snape though the less he's involved the smoother this plan will go.

"Alright Severus who is it that you would like to go with you?" Said Dumbledore.

Snape thought for a moment. Finally he spoke, "If they are up to it I'll take Tonks, Lupin, Kingsley and I guess Moody." Snape couldn't think of any one else that he was willing to take or that he could stand to take.

Severus hoped that he would be lucky and Dumbledore wouldn't ask him to take anyone else.

"Severus I would like you to at least take a few more people. But I don't want you to worry about it right this minute. I just want you to come up with a way of getting the boy out of there." Dumbledore looked around the room before speaking again. "I was thinking that you could use brooms to fly the boy out."

"Brooms Headmaster, you've got to be kidding be. That would just be asking for it. We would be target practice for the death eaters," Snape exclaimed.

"Maybe and maybe not, I don't think that Voldemort is all that ready to go after Harry at the moment. I think he is still hoping to trick Harry into getting the Prophecy for him," Dumbledore's smile faltered at this. "Wouldn't you agree Severus?"

"Yes, I guess you're right," Snape sneered. "I don't think He would want to risk killing the boy that way. I'm sure that his focus is on the Department of Mysteries."

There was some muttering at this.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone was instantly silent. "We will continue our guard of the entrance to the department and hope that will be enough for now."

He turned again to Severus, "I want Harry out of there my tomorrow evening. Everyone is to meet here at seven before heading over to the house, do I make myself clear." His blue eyes bore into Snape's cold black ones.

"Good, now let's continue. Mundungus do you have anything to report?"

And the Order meeting continued. Severus sat half listing to the other's reports. He knew that for the most part the Order relied on his information, but Severus couldn't catch everything. And it was good to know that he didn't have to be at ten places at once to see what every death eater was up to.

The meeting winded down and finally it was over.

But Severus still had to go pay a visit to the Dark Lord that night and he was not looking forward to it. He wished he could go back to his lab and work on a potion. At least that would take his mind off of the Potter brat.

With a heavy heart Snape got up to leave. No one saw him go and Snape was thankful for it. He just wanted to get it over and done with. Once outside he apperated out of sight.

With a crack he appeared on the outskirts of Hogsmead. He had no way of knowing where the Dark Lord was so he decided that in the mean time he would get a drink.

His robes fanned out behind him as he entered the Hog's Head. The bar was empty except for the bar tender. Taking a few coins out of his pocket it set them on the table and ordered his usual.

Snape decided to take his time and think over what he was going to say to Potter. He was pretty sure that he should tell him soon. I won't tell him when we pick him up because I don't want anyone to over hear. I'll wait till we get to Grimmauld Place, at least then I can get it over with and the leave.

He thought over how he was going to tell the boy and nothing sounded right in his head. He sipped his drink absent mindedly. What should he say? Mr. Potter your mom wanted a kid and so I stepped in. Yea that sounded right if he wanted to get cursed by the boy.

He had almost finished his drink when he felt his forearm burn. It was time to go. He sighed, finished his drink and left the bar.

On his way to the out skirts of town he emptied his mind. It wouldn't do anyone any good for the Dark Lord to find out that he was the brat's father.

He turned down an alley and focusing on his burning forearm he disapperated. He felt the familiar tug as he was torn to some place unknown.

Once he landed he looked around to find himself in what looked like nothing more then a shack. The windows were boarded and the door creaked as the wind pushed against it. He didn't have to wait long to hear that man's god forsaken voice.

"Ah Severus, so good of you to join me in this cozy little house. Now come I don't have all day what was it that Order wished to discuss?" The Dark Lord spoke in no more then a whisper, but Snape caught every word that the cold voice spoke.

"The Order wishes to move Harry Potter," Snape spate out the name with venom. "Tomorrow they are going to escort the brat to headquarters. I am to be a member of the party." Snape sneered.

"Hmm this is quiet interesting Severus, I wonder did you volunteer yourself or were you given no choice in the matter," the red eyes glittered dangerously as he spoke.

"No my Lord that old fool put me in charge of this little mission. I protested, but the fool insisted that I go. It would look to suspicious if we were to do anything my Lord." Snape hoped that he had been right in thinking that the Dark Lord wouldn't want to act, that he would want to wait.

"It would be an opportune moment to take the boy, but I don't need him just yet. And I don't wan to lose my spy either. No we'll wait to take the boy. Potter will get a free ride this time, but his time is running out. Is that all Severus?" asked the Dark Lord.

"Nothing else that is of interest, nothing important was discussed," Snape said silkily.

"If that is all Severus then you may go." And with that the Dark Lord vanished, leaving Snape alone in a run down house.

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	5. Ch 5 Snape's Own

**Chapter 5**

**Snape's Own  
**

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, Snape, or any of the other characters. She's rich, I'm not. She lives in England, I don't. 

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry it took so long to update. I had a dog show this weekend and was really busy. So again I'm sorry and I will try really really hard to get chapter six out my no later then Saturday. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, and to those who didn't I would like to say thanks for nothing. I know you are out there- I have over a thousand hits. If half of you read the story, then at least half of you should have reviewed. Sorry to be anal, but I want reviews. I would like to thank my best friend PointBlank1 who proof red this chapter. You should read her story it's on George Weasley and it's really good. Now enjoy!

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"_If that is all, Severus, then you may go." And with that the Dark Lord vanished, leaving Snape alone in a rundown house. _

Snape woke up that morning feeling rather groggy. He had decided to take some "dreamless sleep" the night before in order to actually get to sleep. He normally wouldn't condone doing such, but there had been a lot on his mind and he had been restless.

If feeling groggy was the price to pay for a full night's sleep, then the side effects were okay with him.

Once dressed, Snape headed to the Great Hall for a staff meeting. Snape hated staff meetings. They were completely pointless; they never differed. He could easily miss ten staff meetings and come back for the eleventh one to find that nothing had changed, or that there was a boggart in some place or another.

Snape could care less about it all, but he would never miss one. These meetings meant too much to the Headmaster for him to miss them. And Snape was sure that after this meeting Dumbledore would want to talk about finalizing the plan to get the Potter boy away from that blasted house.

Snape entered the Great Hall before anyone else had arrived. He liked to be alone when he ate. It gave him time to think and to sneer at everyone else while they ate. It also left him free to listen in on their conversations, so that he could know everything that was going on in the school without asking.

Taking his seat at the staff table, he looked down at his plate and said, "A poppy seed muffin and a coffee- black." He didn't have to wait long for his meal to arrive (if you could call a muffin a meal).

While he ate his muffin and sipped his coffee, he thought about what he was going to say to the Potter brat when they had gotten him safely to Grimmauld Place. Nothing sounded good in his head, so he decided to write a letter. Yes, a letter, he thought. He could give it to the boy, tell him to open it later that night, and be out the door before anything else was asked.

Snape was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that the Headmaster had arrived. It wasn't until he had finished his muffin and was looking around to see the sky that he noticed that the Headmaster sitting there.

Without even looking up the Headmaster spoke, "Good morning Severus. Are you ready for tonight?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Snape sneered.

"Good," said the Headmaster absentmindedly.

It didn't take long after that for the rest of the teachers to start arriving. And by eight o'clock, everyone was seated with something to eat in front of them.

The Headmaster then stood up to begin the meeting. "Good morning everyone. I'm glad that all of you were able to make it to this staff meeting because we have a lot of important issues we must disscuss."

The hall was quiet while everyone listened to the Headmaster with rapt attention.

"Another boggart has been found lurking around the fifth floor boys' bathroom, so if a few of you would get together afterwards and take care of it, that would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to tell you who the new Defense Against the Darks Arts teachers is. I wasn't able to find anyone to fill the spot, so the Minister of Magic has taken over and has decided that his undersecretary, Dolores Jane Umbridge, is to fill the role. The only thing that I must tell you on this subject is that she will be reporting back to the Minister, so I would suggest that all try to be nice to her."

At his last words the Headmaster glanced at Snape, who could do nothing but stare back and resist the urge to roll his eyes. How stupid did the headmaster think he was? He wouldn't dream of being mean to someone who reported back to the Minister, though he could indirectly make her life a living hell.

The meeting continued on for what felt like hours to Snape. It was the same stuff that was discussed every summer about a month before the year school started. Stuff like who was going to visit the muggle-borns, what books did each of the teachers require for their class, and other mindless things.

Snape drifted out, not paying attention to the other teachers, and went back to thinking about that Potter brat. The kid was starting to get on his nerves again, and the school year hadn't even started yet. And then would he do during the school year with the brat after he'd told him? Would the brat ask questions, or would he just accept the fact and go on with his life, leaving Snape alone? He knew that he didn't want to have any sort of relationship with the boy.

This is getting too confusing. Let's just focus first on what to tell the brat, then we'll deal with the rest later.

The meeting ended at two o'clock. All the teachers left to go to their offices, leaving only himself and the Headmaster behind.

"Severus, I would like a quick word with you in my office before you head back to yours," whispered the Headmaster.

"Why are you whispering? Is this a secret that the other teachers must not know about, or are you trying not to upset me by saying it quietly?" Snape sneered.

"A little of both," whispered the Headmaster. His eyes twinkled like stars as they gazed into Snape's cold black ones.

"If you want a word, let's go to my office instead. It's closer and I have a lot to do today." Snape said.

"Oh, very well Severus,"

And with that, they both got up and left the Great Hall.

Snape walked swiftly to the dungeons, his robes billowing behind him as he walked into his office. As soon as the Headmaster was through the door Snape flicked his wand, and the door closed behind him. With another spell Snape put a silencing charm over the room. He could care less if any of the other teachers overheard whatever the Headmaster was going to say, but he wanted to give the Headmaster the impression that he was taking him seriously.

Snape sat down behind his desk and stared at the Headmaster, waiting for him to speak.

Finally the Headmaster sat down opposite Snape, sighed and spoke. "Severus I know that you are planning on telling Harry tonight, and I was wondering if you had thought all of this through. I mean, what are you going to say to Voldemort when he finds out that Harry is your son? What are you going to do with him when he's here, and then when it's summer break?"

Snape hadn't yet thought about what he was going to tell the Dark Lord. He knew the Dark Lord would want him to hand the boy over to him, but no matter what Snape could never do it. He had made a promise and he wouldn't hand the boy over to be slaughtered like that. But what could he do?

Snape got up, strode to the mantle, and started a fire with a prod from his wand. He stared into the fire, thinking. And then it hit him.

Turning back to the Headmaster, he said in a cold silky voice, "I'll tell the Dark Lord that you have made me make an unbreakable vow swearing that I'll never take the brat to him or tell him where the kid is. I don't think that he would make me bring the boy to him then. And as far as what I'm going to do while the boy's at school, I'll treat him as I have always treated him. He may be my son, but that doesn't change who he is. And he will return to the Durselys' next summer, I want nothing to do with him."

The Headmaster was silent for a while. Seconds ticked by. Snape returned to his chair behind his desk and stared into the Headmaster's crystal blue eyes.

"So even though he is your son, you want nothing to do with him?" asked the Headmaster in a sad voice.

"No, I don't want anything to do with him, I'm sure the brat will probably feel the same way," said Snape in a emotionless voice.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Severus. Harry has been without a real family for most of his life. He may welcome the chance to have a father. I'm sure that at first it will be a real shock, but once it has worn off I think he'll welcome the idea. Oh and Severus, when you refer to Harry, at least when I'm here, please at least refer to him as Mr. Potter." The Headmaster's eyes became as cold as ice as he said, "He has had enough to deal with and he isn't a brat, he's just had a hard time so far."

Snape smirked, but didn't say anything. He knew the Headmaster was very fond of the boy and nothing Snape could say would sway him from that.

So Snape just continued, "I think, Headmaster, that we should really make the Unbreakable Vow so that Voldemort will have proof that we did it. I'm sure that he'll test my wand to make sure."

"I agree, Severus. Who do you want to be our bonder?" sighed the Headmaster.

"I was thinking of maybe having Minerva do it. I mean, she is the head of _Mr. Potter's _house." Snape spat the word out venomously. The name did nothing but remind him of James Potter and he couldn't help but say it as such.

With another great sigh that was starting to irritate Snape, Dumbledore got up and walked over to the fireplace. Dumbledore opened a black and silver box that sat on the mantle piece and took a handful of floo powder before throwing it in the fire. When the flames shot green Dumbledore shouted, "Minerva, I would like a word. I'm in Severus's office."

They waited for a reply. It didn't take long for Minerva to appear.

"What is it Headmaster? I'm kind of busy at the moment." Minerva said in a clipped voice.

"This won't take long, Minerva. Snape and I just wanted you to be our bonder for the Unbreakable Vow," said Dumbledore. Minerva nodded.

Snape moved in front of Minerva and the Headmaster and held out his hand. Dumbledore grasped it in a firm, but somehow soft, grip. Minerva placed her wand over their hands.

In a clear voice Dumbledore spoke, "Will you, Severus Snape, promise with your life to keep Harry James Potter from Lord Voldemort at all costs, not even telling him where the boy may be located or giving him any information that might lead to Mr. Potter's harm or death?"

"I, Severus Snape, will do all in my power to keep Harry James Potter out of the Dark Lords hands at all cost to my life," said Snape.

Thin ropes entwined both Snape's and Dumbledore's hands as they spoke, one glowing blue and the other red.

Minerva waved her wand over the two's hands, and the ropes glowed bright gold before they disappeared.

Dumbledore turned to Minerva and said, " Minerva, if you would come with me to my office, I will explain what this was all about. I'm sure you have time for a brief explanation." Dumbledore eyed her over his half moon spectacles.

Minerva, who had been staring at Snape, nodded and turned back to the fire. Seconds later they were gone.

Sighing, Snape returned to his desk and sat down. He rested his head in his hands and closed his eyes. He still had no idea what he was going to say to the Potter brat. He opened his eyes and glanced down to look at his watch. He would have to start heading to the front gates if he wanted to get to Grimmauld Place in time.

Snape got up and moved to the door. He took the charms off with a flick and strode out.

Snape was out of the castle and in front of the gates much sooner then he had been hoping for. He flicked his wand and opened the black gates in front of him. He walked through the gates and, without even turning, flicked the gates shut, turned on his heel, and disapparated.

He reappeared outside Grimmauld Place seconds later. He strode up the steps and, with a tap on the door from his wand, he walked inside.

The house was as dark and as damp as ever. And no matter what the Weasleys did to the place, they couldn't get that horrible smell out of it. It still smelled like rotten fish and mildew. Not a pleasant mixture.

Snape strode to the kitchen where he assumed someone would be. And as he opened it he found he was right, except that it wasn't anyone who he had expected to be there already.

Sitting at the table with her nose stuck in a book was Hermione Granger. She didn't seem to have noticed him, and Snape didn't really want to interrupt her. So he took the chair right in front of her and waited, looking at anything but her.

He didn't have to wait long for the Headmaster to arrive, and he was shortly followed by Tonks, Remus, the Weasleys, Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody. They all were talking and greeting each other. Nobody seemed to really notice that Snape was there, and he was fine with that.

Once everyone was seated around the table, he cleared his throat. Silence fell and all eyes turned in his direction.

"I want to leave as soon as possible, so here is what's going to happen. We're going to get the brooms and apparate there. Then we'll grab Mr. Potter and anything that he needs. I'll shrink his trunk and whatever else he needs. I want someone to put a disillusionment charm on him just to be safe. Then we'll bring him back here and be done with it." Snape said in a cold silky voice.

"I have taken care of the Durselys, so there should be no problem getting him out of there," said Dumbledore.

"Good, now lets go and get this over with. I have a potion that needs to be attended to in two hours and if it spoils than it will be the death of whomever is closest at the time," said Snape dangerously. He had glanced at Tonks as he said it and he could see the color drain from her face as their eyes met.

Snape smirked and headed towards the front door. The sound of wooden chairs sliding against the stone floor told him that they were following him. Snape waited at the door while the group grabbed their cloaks and their brooms.

He reached into his pocket and felt around to make sure that his broom was still where he had put it last night. He decided that he would wait and unshrink it when they got there.

Seeing that they were all ready, he turned and left the house. Once outside, he apparated away without waiting to see if they followed him.

He apparated out with a crack right outside Number Four Privet Drive. He had hardly been there two seconds when he heard another crack right beside him.

He turned to see the Headmaster. Without a word, the Headmaster reached into his pocket, pulled out his Deluminator, and handed it to Snape with a wink before he disapparated.

Snape stared at the spot that the Headmaster had been standing a second before. That had been a bit odd, but then the Headmaster was a bit odd. Snape held out the device and clicked it at each of the street lights. One by one they zoomed toward the device until the street was bathed in darkness.

Snape hoped that no muggle had seen him or the Headmaster, but then, when he thought about it, who would believe someone if they had? Snape told himself not to forget such an important thing again.

Snape turned back to the house and waited for the others to show up. He didn't have to wait long before the others appeared with a crack behind him.

Snape headed towards the door. He reached for the doorknob and found that it wasn't even locked. He couldn't believe how stupid the muggles were, leaving the house open. Not that a lock would have kept anyone out, but it was always a deterrent.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw that everyone had their wand out and held up in front of them. Snape smirked- it looked like they were heading off to war. It looked really comical; everyone was so serious. Snape turned back to the door and opened it.

He walked into what he supposed was the entrance hall. Looking around, he saw that the house was really neat and almost completely spotless. It was sickening. Not wanting to stick around longer then he had to, he headed towards the stairs at the end of the hall. He assumed that the bedrooms would be located on the second floor.

Snape whispered, "Lumos," as he stalked up the stairs. The hall was completely black otherwise, and he didn't fancy running into anything or anyone.

Once he reached the landing, Snape headed to the first door on his left and knocked. He felt silly doing so, but he didn't want to barge in on anything. He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

"Who is it?" whispered a voice from the other side of the door.

"Open the door this instant Mr. Potter, or I'll blast it apart," snapped Snape, who felt that that would answer the brat's question better then anything else.

"I can't sir- the door is locked from the outside," said the Potter brat.

Snape noticed a lock on the door. It was sort of odd, but nothing that he didn't object to. Snape tapped the lock and it snapped open. He took it off and opened the door.

He did not expect to see what he saw when he opened the door, and that was a bruised and bloodied Potter sitting on his bed with a book in one hand and a wand in another. But that was nothing next to the brat's appearance, which had changed dramatically and now resembled himself when he had been that age.

Snape stared wide-eyed at the boy that was his son.

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	6. Ch 6 Taking Flight

**Chapter 6**

**Taking Flight  
**

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**Disclaimer: **Like I have said in each of the last five chapters, I do NOT own Snape or Harry. If I did, I can guarantee you that I wouldn't be sitting here writing this. 

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone that reviewed- you have made my world a better place. I really rushed the last chapter so it's not exactly how I wanted it. I'm sorry for that. To make up for it, I have decided not to procrastinate, and have started writing this earlier than Saturday night. Enjoy and, as always, please Review. And a special thanks to PointBlank1 who helped improve this chapter and corrected my grammar and spelling. I really don't know how I got into AP Language.

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_He did not expect to see what he saw when he opened the door, and that was a bruised and bloodied Potter sitting on his bed with a book in one hand and a wand in another. But that was nothing next to the brat's appearance, which had changed dramatically and now resembled himself when he had been that age._

_Snape stared wide-eyed at the boy that was his son._

He must have stood there for at least two minutes looking at the boy. It was clear that he had been beaten, for what Snape did not know. The boy had purple busies on his jaw and nose, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. He looked unhealthy, but that wasn't just because of the bruises. His hair was long, greasy, and looked unkempt. His arms, which were covered in red welts, were thin as sticks. Snape couldn't think- he could only stare.

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Harry had been having a tough summer. Not only had Cedric Diggory just been murdered, but he had been forced to deal with it alone and stuck at the Durselys'. Harry felt rather cheated.

Why was it that both Hermionie and Ron had their parents and relatives, but Harry couldn't have anyone who loved or cared about him (that wasn't wanted for a crime they didn't commit)? He didn't really consider the Durselys his family, not when they treated him so poorly. He often wondered if they were truly his relatives, or if God had been cruel and had decided to put him with the worst muggles alive in England. And Sirius hadn't been helping much, either. He'd been suggesting that he had a muggle cold, and that time would heal his wounds.

Then, not two weeks into the summer, he had started feeling sick. He would often lie in his bed as convulsions rolled up and down his body. His bones felt like they were on fire, and his head felt like it was splitting in two. The Durselys refused to let him send Hedwig off to the school nurse, where he was sure he could get help. It was nothing short of torture. On the few days that he had been feeling well enough to walk around, he'd had chores to do, and this did nothing but worsen his condition.

On the one day that Harry had been able to escape from the Durselys, he'd had a run in with a dementor and was now facing explution. He thought the summer couldn't get any worse, but how wrong he had been.

Yesterday Harry had been lying in his bed trying to deal with the spasms, when he felt a funny tingling sensation running up and down his spine and on his face. It felt weird- not that Harry really registered it at the time. He'd thought that it was part of his sickness. He hadn't noticed anything different until he had gotten up the next morning.

He had walked into the bathroom early in the morning because he had needed to make the Dursleys breakfast, and had gone and taken his shower as usual. He had been washing his face when he noticed the first change. His nose had felt different. Feeling it, he realized that it wasn't the same shape or size. He looked up, wiped the foggy mirror with his hand towel, and gasped in surprise.

His reflection stared back at him, surprised and wide-eyed. His only recognizable features were his bright green eyes and the thin lightning shaped scar that sat in the middle of his forehead. The rest of his face was foreign to him. His nose was longer then it had been, and slightly thinner as well. His face, if possible, was paler and, like his nose, slightly thinner. And his hair, while still black, was longer and laid flatter on his head.

Harry wanted to scream. What had happened to him? Was it this sickness? He had no idea, but wanted more then ever to see and talk to his godfather. Maybe Sirius would know what to do.

But what could he do now? Well he knew he couldn't just stand in front of the mirror naked all day; that wasn't going to solve anything. He thought about locking himself in his room and saying he was ill again, but no, that wouldn't do. His aunt had told him that sickness or not he was going to paint the fence. Maybe they wouldn't notice the change after all- how often did they really look at him?

He walked to his room and dressed. Pulling out a blue shirt that was four sizes to big for him, Harry couldn't help but think about how bad his summer was becoming. This topping everything else off was just great.

Harry walked downstairs and began preparing breakfast for the Dursleys. He started on the bacon first because it took the longer to cook than the eggs, but less time than the pancakes that he would start shortly after the bacon was cooked. Unlike the bacon, though, pancakes wouldn't hold their heat for very long and didn't reheat well. So the whole breakfast thing had to be done right if Harry half-expected food himself.

Harry had just finished the pancakes and was moving on to the eggs when his aunt and uncle came downstairs, and Harry knew it wouldn't be long before his cousin was up, too. He heard them talking about the news and the weather as his aunt made coffee and tea. Harry resumed watching the eggs, hoping that no one would notice the change. And so far so good.

He had just finished with the eggs when he heard the thundering footfalls of his cousin coming down the stairs. Deciding to eat fast and get out while the takings were good, Harry ate at the counter as fast as possible, but was still trying to make up for his lack of food from the week previous. He only took an egg and a small pancake, hoping that he might be able to get more later. Wrapping it in a napkin, he headed up the stairs, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be noticed.

But today Harry had no such luck. He had almost reached the stairs when he heard his uncle call.

"Boy! Get back here!"

Slowly Harry turned back to the kitchen door, not wanting to face what was surely coming. He eyed his breakfast slowly and sighed. He probably wasn't going to get breakfast today. Eating it fast now wouldn't help him later, and he might be locked up longer for it if he did. Harry entered the kitchen with his breakfast held behind his back hoping that maybe he would be lucky and no one would look at him.

Unfortunately Uncle Vernon was looking directly at him, his mouth open and eyes wide as they looked him up and down. Then the storm unleashed its full force.

"What the hell did you do to yourself this time, freak!" Vernon spat.

For some reason, Harry found himself thinking of his parents. He held their images in his mind. The Dursleys weren't his family, and he was tired of dealing with them. "I didn't DO anything." He couldn't keep the resentment out of his voice, and it only made Vernon more angry.

"That does it boy! If you can't keep that freakishness under control then I'm going to give you a very good reason to control it," shouted Vernon as he stood up and grabbed Harry roughly by his hair.

Harry dropped his breakfast. His hand plunged into his pocket, but he stopped himself. Of course he wasn't going to do any magic. He couldn't risk making himself look worse at his expulsion hearing. There was nothing he could do now but wait for it to be over. He couldn't fight back.

Vernon dragged Harry up the stairs, Harry struggling to keep up, and failing to do so. He couldn't help but trip every third step. This did nothing but infuriate Vernon more as he thought his nephew was fighting back.

Once they reached the landing, Vernon slammed Harry against the wall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Harry. Think about Hogwarts, that was all that Harry was thinking. But that was just the beginning of it all. Vernon punched Harry half a dozen times; not really aiming, but always finding a mark that would leave a nasty bruise. After being hit in the face twice, Harry passed out.

Thinking the boy was tricking him, Vernon kept on punching until his fist was sore. Harry slumped to the ground. Vernon then grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the his room. Vernon kicked him in before slamming the door and locking it.

Harry woke up several minutes later feeling very sore. He winced as he tried to get himself onto his bed. Slowly but surely he made it up. Once there, Harry laid his head against the pillow, too tired to take off his glasses, which appeared broken. He fell immediately asleep.

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Snape moved into the room that was slightly bigger then a broom closet and closed the door behind him. Taking out his wand, he cast a silencing charm on the door and window. Snape then moved towards the boy, who backed away from him, scooting to the head of the bed, where he set his book down and picked up his pillow. His swollen eyes never moved away from Snape.

Snape didn't know what to say, but he knew that he had to get the boy out of here. Snape finally found his voice.

"Mr. Potter, would you kindly stop backing away from me? I'm here with the Order, and we are going to take you out of here. Do you feel able to walk?"

The boy just stared at him with a strange mixture of horror and curiosity on his face. After a few moments' hesitation, the boy nodded and stated to get slowly up off of the bed. The boy seemed to be testing his balance as he got up, holding on to his bedside table as he went.

The boy finally let go of the table and stood by his bed, looking at Snape with a blank look on his face.

Snape reached into his pocket and grabbed two vials. One was a simple healing solution, and the other was a pepper-up potion. He handed them to the boy and told him to drink it. Thankfully, Potter took the vials and, without any questions, drowned both of them in one gulp.

The potions went into effect immediately. The bruises on the boys face shrank considerably, though they were still colored, and a slight flush returned to the boy's cheeks. The boy blinked and looked back at Snape with a different expression on his face, one that Snape couldn't quite understand. The boy seemed to have finally found his voice again, too.

"Professor, um, when are we going to go? You just said you're here to take me away, you aren't going to leave me here are you?" The boy asked quickly.

"Not today, Mr. Potter. You are getting a reprieve from this place for now, but you will still, of course, have to return here next summer," said Snape

The boy looked crestfallen at these words. Snape could see that this place was truly the worst place for the boy, and it hadn't help that Diggory had just died. Harry probably had to put up with everything by himself, and yet Snape didn't feel all that sorry for the boy-who-wouldn't-die, even if he was his son.

With a sigh, Snape said, "Really, Mr. Potter it can't be so horrible. And I'm sure next summer will be, erm, better."

Anger flashed in the boys eyes at the suggestion of returning to the godforsaken place.

Snape ignored it and said, "Mr. Potter, if you wouldn't mind hurring up, we haven't got all day. I have a very important potion that will spoil if you don't hurry up, and I'm sure that you wouldn't want to get a detention before the term even started. I'll be waiting outside the door. You have five minutes to collect everything that you want to take to school before we leave." And with that, Snape stalked out of the room with a smirk on his face as he saw the anger in the boy's eyes increase.

Snape closed the door behind him as he left, deciding to give the brat a little privacy. He headed downstairs to where the rest of the group was waiting. Every one of them, except for Tonks, was looking around at all the different Muggle appliances. Tonks was sitting on the couch looking bored as she stared off into space.

With a jolt, Snape realized that he would have to explain Harry's appearance before they set off if they wanted to get out of there before midnight. Snape had no idea what to tell them, and wondered if anyone would be able to guess who Harry's father really was.

Deciding to be blunt and get right to the point, Snape called everyone into the living room.

"Before we leave, there is something that you all should know about Potter." Snape's eyes glinted menacingly at the group as he spoke, daring anyone to interrupt. "In a nutshell, I received a letter this summer from Lily Potter saying that Mr.Potter was my son, and, well, when I went upstairs and saw the boy I saw that his appearance has changed."

Lupin dared to interrupt, "James isn't Harry father? But why, how…?" He looked stunned, disbelieving.

"Dumbledore or myself will explain it to you later, Lupin. Potter doesn't know and I want to wait until we get to our destination to tell him," Snape snapped. His tone became gloomier as he said, "Before we leave here, I would appreciate it if you could put a disillusionment charm on the boy. I don't want to take any chances." In a whisper he continued, "I don't know everything about the Dark Lord and I don't pretend to, but it is possible that he has changed his mind and has decided that now will be the perfect time to act. I don't think he will, but I want you to be aware."

Moody didn't need the advice or the warning. He had already planned on keeping his magical eye on a 360 degree path and to have his wand at the ready. But he nodded in agreement with Snape. He wouldn't argue with him, it wouldn't do anyone any good.

Turning from the group, Snape muttered, "Where has that blasted Potter gotten to now?" Snape headed upstairs to find the boy's door open, and the brat himself trying to push his trunk out of the room.

"Damn it Potter, it would have taken you about a second to call down and say that you needed help with your trunk, but no, of course not. Famous Harry Potter feels that he has the strength to move mountains," sneered Snape.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry emphasized the last word, which really irritated Snape, "I was just trying to get it out and onto the landing so that it would be easier to move."

"I will not take any cheek from you here, Potter. I don't care if it is summer break. You will address me in a polite manner. Do you understand me?" Snape snapped.

"Yes, sir," said Harry rolling his eyes as he said it.

"And don't you dare roll your eyes at me either," whispered Snape in his most venomous voice. "Now grab your broom and wand. I'll deal with the trunk."

Harry grabbed his wand and his broom and headed downstairs, leaving Snape alone.

Glancing at the trunk, Snape slipped his wand out and shrunk the trunk before picking it up and putting it in his pocket. Then he followed the brat downstairs, hoping against hope that no one would react too badly to the boy's appearance.

To Snape's relief, he saw Moody putting the charm on the boy. Nobody else was in sight, which was good considering Snape knew that no matter what Lupin would react to the sight of Harry.

Snape moved to the front door where he saw everyone standing and said, "Alright, now that Mr. Potter has so kindly joined us I think it is about time we headed out. I'm going to fly ahead to make sure that our way is clear. When I give the signal I want everyone to take flight. Any questions?"

Everyone stared at him. He took that to mean "no."

"Good. Now I'm going to fly ahead to make sure our way is clear. If you see red sparks, that means that there is danger and you need to get to the ground immediately. From there, you will follow Moody's orders. Now, Tonks, you are going to fly directly in front of Potter. And Potter, you follow Tonks no matter where she leads you."

The brat-who-lived gave a quick scowl and a jerk of a nod.

Snape continued, "Moody, I want you to fly behind Potter. Lupin and Kingsley, I want you to circle Potter, going under him and over him and staying on his left and right sides. Now, wait here until I give the signal. Moody, keep your eye open. Constant vigilance."

Moody scowled at having his own advice thrown at him. Snape smirked at this.

Snape headed to the driveway, where he took out his wand and his broom. When he tapped his broom, it went back to its proper size. Snape slipped his wand up his sleeve and mounted his broom, a slick Nimbus Two Thousand and One (courtesy of Lucius Malfoy). He pushed off the ground and became airborne.

The night air was warm and pleasant on his face as he sped upwards above the clouds. Once Snape was in the open air above them, he slipped out his wand and waved it in a complicated motion. The clouds shone misty green as Snape completed his spell, and he was satisfied. The charm had ensured that no one untrustworthy would be able to rise above the cloud cover.

Snape dropped in altitude and sent up a shower of green sparks.

Snape waited for the group to reach him before he once again rose above the clouds and headed off in the direction of safety.

It took Snape and hour and forty-seven minutes to reach Grimmauld Place. Thankfully, there had been no trouble. It only took the group another ten minutes before they too arrived outside of Black's hidey-hole.

Snape walked swiftly over to Potter putting a hand in his pocket as he did so. Taking out a piece of parchment, he handed it to the boy, who took it. Snape said, "Read it and memorize it, Potter. Actually try and think about something other than yourself for a couple minutes, and focus on what's written on that piece of paper."

After a few seconds Snape snatched the paper back and tapped it with his wand. The piece of parchment burst into flames.

Snape headed for the door, and was followed by the brat and the rest of the motley crew. With a tap of his wand, Snape opened the door, and ushered them all inside. Closing it, Snape reapplied the charms and headed over to where Potter was standing.

"Mr. Potter, I wish to speak to you in private before you join your little friends and your beloved dogfather," sneered Snape.

"Sure, Professor, but can we take off this charm first? It's starting to freak me out," said Harry. And, indeed, Harry was swaying on his feet, and his eyes weren't entirely focused. Why did Moody always have to overdo the safety precautions?

"Once we are in the library I will remove the charm. Follow me," said Snape curtly.

They went together into the library, Harry staring at his hand with an amazed expression on his face. Snape cast a few of his favorite privacy charms on the doors and windows. Not looking at the brat, Snape said, "Potter, sit down. There is something that I have to tell you."

Turning back to the couch, Snape took off the charm with a tap on the boy's head. He walked towards the window and looked outside at the muggles below.

In a emotionless voice that was no more than a whisper, Snape began to tell the boy what he knew would shake the boy's very foundation.

"Mr. Potter, this matter relates to your current appearance. I'm sure that you have noticed the changes, despite being so thick in the head. And, well, you probably want to know why your appearance has changed, and I can answer that for you. Now, don't interrupt me or I will give you a detention for every word," snapped Snape who had guessed correctly that the boy had been just about to interrupt him.

"To make a long story short, Potter, James isn't your father. I am. Your parents, or Lily really, really wanted a kid, but James wasn't able to provide that for her. So on Lily's request I stepped in, much to your father's displeasure. And then you were born. Lily changed your appearance to protect both you and myself. I didn't know that your appearance had been changed, and I didn't know you were mine until I received a letter from her this summer." Snape stretched the truth, not wanting the brat to think bad about Lily.

Snape took out the letter and turned and handed it to the boy, who seemed frozen.

Not knowing what else to say, and not wanting to stick around to hear what the boy was going to say when he recovered, Snape left the room, his robes billowing out behind him.

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**Please Review. **


	7. Ch 7 Reaction Pending

**Chapter 7**

**Reaction Pending**

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**Disclaimer:** Hey guess what!! I don't own Harry or Snape!! If I did I would be rich and stuff, but guess what I'm not and I don't live in England or have a British accent. I'll give you a clue to where I live and if you guess wrong then you suck at life. I live in the biggest of the 50 states. 

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I would like to tell all of you that didn't that I'm very, very disappointed in you and if you don't review this time I'm going to make you sit in the corner, of where ever you are, for fifteen minutes. But to who ever is the fortieth reviewer I will send you Chocolate. Oooo Ahhh. Special.

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_Not knowing what else to say, and not wanting to stick around to hear what the boy was going to say when he recovered, Snape left the room, his robes billowing out behind him._

Snape made his way swiftly to the door, hoping against hope that he'd be lucky enough to make it out the door and back to Hogwarts with no questions asked. But Snape was not so lucky. No sooner had he reached the front door then he heard someone angrily yell his name.

"Snape!?!?" bellowed Black, "What the hell have you done to my godson!!"

Snape quickly thought about the odds of escaping before Black or anyone else caught up with him. Judging the distance, Snape figured that if he left now that he might have a chance at making it to the gates. Then again, his chances were smaller if Black was as furious as he sounded.

Deciding that it would be better to face Black with witnesses around, Snape decided to stay, against his better judgment. And to think, he might be apparating to Hogwarts by now.

Snape turned from the door and headed to the kitchen with a sigh. Before he entered the room, Snape slid his had up the sleeve of his robe and grasped his wand. He would rather be safe than sorry. Black had proven that he didn't mind causing Snape pain… Snape winced slightly as his mind wandered to his days as a Hogwarts student.

Snape slowly slid the door open and entered. The-boy-who-was-making-his-life-miserable was sitting the head of the table. A very red and angry Black was standing on the brat's right side with his hand the boy's shoulder.

The brat, for his part, was white as stone and staring straight ahead with unfocused eyes, mouth gaping. It would have been comical, and Snape would have commented that the brat looked like a guppy, if it hadn't been for Black's angry presence.

Snape stayed as calm as possible in an attempt to keep the beast calm. Black rushed towards Snape, tossing chairs aside as he went. The man came within inches of Snape, standing directly in front of him with his wand at Snape's throat.

"Well? What have you bloody done this time? Give me a reason to curse you and I swear I'll do it Snape," growled Black.

"Lower your wand Black, I would hate to see you thrown in Azkaban because you got the wrong idea about your beloved godson," sneered Snape. "Now. If you want to talk in a civilized manner then I will be more or less happy to oblige."

Snape watched as color again surged to Black's face, but Black lowered his wand with obvious effort and sat down in the nearest chair (after replacing it right-side up). Snape sneered and sat down across from Black, glancing at Potter to see if he was still breathing.

"I'm surprised that your godson didn't show you the letter that I gave him. That might help clear a few things up. Surely you asked to see the letter in Potter's hand? Being, of course, the _brilliant_ man that you are," said Snape, his face and voice deadpan.

Black just sat there looking blank and trying to decide if that was a compliment. Within a moment or two, he realized that he was being mocked. He probably would've drawn a wand on Snape right then, but he was too curious about the contents of the letter. Barely containing his anger, Black replied, "No. I was a little preoccupied with the fact that Harry can't seem to speak."

With a smirk Snape said, "Potter, why don't you hand the letter to your beloved godfather?"

The boy looked up with a start. For a moment, he didn't seem to even recognize the two men. Then, he remembered, and he exploded. Standing up, the boy looked crazed with eyes wide and face blazing red.

"You're a liar! MY FATHER IS JAMES POTTER! I don't care what the letter says! My mum never would've… not with you! She's better than that! My name is Harry POTTER. POTTER! Not Black, not Malfoy, or, God forbid, SNAPE! I know who my father is, damn it, and it's NOT YOU!"

"I will not be spoken to like this Potter," said Snape, his voice low and tense. He leaned towards Harry, and his face looked murderous. "Don't talk about what your little mind can't comprehend. You have no idea what went on, what Lily went through. I knew her like you will never know her. And I will not explain any more unless you sit down and be quiet like your beloved godfather."

For a moment, Harry and Snape stood absolutely still, both faces filled with hatred. Then, after a terrifying moment of silence, Harry lowered himself back into his chair. Snape sat down as well.

"That's better. Now watch your tongue, Potter," sneered Snape. "I don't like this any more than you do. For once in your life, keep your mouth shut!"

"I will not have you talking to Harry like that, Snape," snapped Black. He appeared to be more than a little shocked from the conversation he'd just heard. He was staring at the letter Harry had handed to him, even while he talked to Snape.

"Clearly, neither of you intend to speak civilly. I have lost my patience, and now I will be leaving. I have better things to do and," Snape looked at the clock on the wall, "a potion to attend to. I swear, Black, if it spoils you will wish you had never been born." Snape whispered in a soft, menacing voice.

"Again with the potion-spoiling threats. Oh and what are you going to do? Give me a grease stain with that filthy hair of yours?" Black laughed for the first time since Snape had entered the room. Harry, however, still looked shaken.

"Enough! This has been an absurd waste of time," said Snape as he stood up.

Snape turned and stormed out of the room. He threw the door open and found Tonks standing in front of the door. Snape looked at his watch, back up at Tonks, and sneered.

"Looks like your luck has run out, not that you had much to start with."

Tonks looked terrified, but tried to hide it. "Listen here, you…" Snape raised his wand. Tonks, to her credit, tried to be brave, but she couldn't control her fear of Snape. She tried to formulate words, but couldn't. Then she fainted.

Snape smirked and headed out the door and into the street. A crack and a second later, Snape vanished into the night.

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Harry sat in a daze as he watched Snape leave the room. Of course, "leave" was an understatement; "storm out in a fit of rage" was more like it. Harry had never seen Snape so angry in his life. It sent waves of pure terror down Harry's spine.

Glancing over at Sirius, Harry saw that his godfather looked no better than Snape. It was like looking into the face of a wolf.

Harry didn't know what to think. His emotions were mixed together, each one taking turns on the surface. Someplace inside him, he believed it all- the letter, the story behind it. 99 of him screamed out for it to be false. Every time Snape's hooked nose came into his mind, he felt more furious and bitter than he had ever felt. The strength of his feelings were overwhelming, all-consuming. He thought of nothing else.

But he wasn't sure what that last part of him, that one percent, was feeling. He knew there was more to his reaction than fury, but he wasn't sure what that feeling _was._ All he knew was that he had no idea what to think or how to act. Could his mother… really? He wanted answers. Why had Sirius snapped at Snape just when they were getting to the important part of the discussion?

He didn't want to speak to Sirius. His godfather still held the envelope with Lily Potter's handwriting. Surely, Sirius would know if the letter was a fake. But he hadn't protested to the idea of Snape being Harry's father. Why hadn't Sirius come to James's defense?

Harry wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while. He exited the room without another word.

On his way upstairs, he heard a scuffling sound. It sounded like there were several pairs of feet moving towards the stairs. It was a noise that Harry didn't welcome. It was something that Harry didn't want to face.

Once he reached the landing he was surrounded be a sea of red heads. All of them gaped as he came into a clearer view. God, he did not want to deal with this now. He wanted to escape, to be alone and clear his head. There was no escape now, though, not with Ron, Ginny, and the twins seeing his change in appearance.

There was a moment of silence, and then Ron spoke.

"Bloody hell, Harry, what happened to you? You look…. Well, Harry you look like Snape," stammered Ron.

"No!" shouted Harry, "I look like I always have, I look like my father James! Ron… I don't want to talk about it right now, I just want to go and rest for a bit. See you later," said Harry in an attempt to act normally.

"All right mate, don't blow your aunt up again" said Ron, trying to joke, but Harry could see the fear in his friend's eyes.

Thankful for the silence, but not for the stares, Harry headed to his room. He knew that he would have to tell Ron soon, but that didn't mean he had to think about it now. Harry had other, more important things, on his mind.

_Of all the times for something like this…_ Harry knew he wouldn't be able to get to sleep tonight. Why had Snape told him here, and now? Right after Cedric's murder. Right before his Ministry hearing. The fat was really on the fire now. Things just keep going from bad to worse and it seemed that there was going to be no break in the trend.

He was lying on his bed when he heard a soft knock on the door.

With a great sigh Harry said, "Come in."

The door opened slowly, revealing Ron and Hermione. They walked in hesitantly, as if expecting another bomb to drop.

"Harry," said a small voice, "is it okay if we talk? You don't have to, but we're your friends, Harry, you can tell us anything. Please tell us what's wrong."

"Fine, you might as well hear it from me. I would hate for you guys to get the wrong idea from another source," Harry muttered sullenly.

Ron and Herminie moved to sit on the bed next to Harry's. Once seated, they turned and looked at Harry. The pity in their eyes was sickening. He didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him.

Harry sighed and looked at the floor. He couldn't hold their intense gazes.

"Well, apparently, Snape got a letter from my mom saying that I'm his son, which is totally preposterous because I look nothing like Snape," Harry stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Um, Harry… have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?" asked Hermione timidly.

"Well I expect I've got growing pains or something. Maybe Snape put a curse or a hex on me to get back and Sirius and me." Harry's excuses did not seem to put his friends' worries to rest. On the contrary, Ron shook his head, and Hermione opened her eyes wider, desperate to make Harry see reason.

"Oh Harry, why would Professor Snape go though the trouble of making you look like him? There are other ways for him to get back at you and Sirius, if he wanted to," Hermione seemed to be struggling to remain calm.

"Look, if you're not going to believe me, I don't see why you're here. Just go, will you? I need to get some rest anyway." And with that, Harry turned his back on his friends.

Harry couldn't see what happened next. Hermione started forward and reached out to touch Harry's shoulder. Her mouth opened as if to speak. But, before she could, Ron grabbed her other arm. They turned towards each other and argued silently for a moment, Ron shaking his head and mouthing "No, not now," and Hermione just looking back at him, her eyes filled with tears. After a moment, Hermione gave up, and the two walked out the door, Ron's hand on Hermione's back.

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I would like to thank pointblank1 who has so kindly corrected my mistakes. Though if she doesn't stop texting me and asking me if i updated my story yet I may not put this bit in. I would like to appoligize for the delay. I was thinking about discontinuing this story, but then I got death threats and had my writers block cured so now I'm continuing my story. I'll try to get another chapter up my next Sunday, but don't cross your fingers. And as always please review. You know you want to. 


	8. Ch 8 Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 8

Trials and Tribulations

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Disclaimer: Well, if you haven't heard I went to court and fought to have the right to Harry Potter. I lost, but I guess it's all for the better. Sigh. If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs (not mine either.). 

A/N: Sorry for the wait between updates. I've been busy. And I have been really wanting to, but... ok I won't lie to you, 'cause you guys are like my best friends. I had a Halloween party. I know it no excuse, but it was Harry Potter sub-themed.Oh there is an important note at the end of the chapter that deals with what the future of the story might hold so i need to hear your opinion. As always a huge thanks to by awesome friend pointblank1 (read her story, make her update). I made her check my story on her B-Day! I know I'm a great friend. lol. Please Review.

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_Harry couldn't see what happened next. Hermione started forward and reached out to ouch Harry's shoulder. Her mouth opened as if to speak. But, before she could, Ron grabbed her other arm. They turned towards each other and argued silently for a moment, Ron shaking his head and mouthing "No, not now," and Hermione just looking back at him, her eyes filled with tears. After a moment, Hermione gave up, and the two walked out the door, Ron's hand on Hermione's back._

Harry sat on his bed in the dark for a while, not really sure at how fast time was passing. The quiet pressed in on his ears. The only noise breaking the silence was the sound of his own breathing. Harry wasn't even sure it was his own. His mind went blank trying with all his might not to think not to know or care. Finally, in a effort to do something, _anything_, he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to keep his mind blank.

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Snape slammed the door to his room shut. 

He was so tired of little insignificant brat. The-boy-whom-everyone-must-worship and his god-forsaken dog of a godfather were making his life a living hell.

And yet Snape felt a bit relieved by the knowledge that the boy knew and was suffering too. It was a slight comfort and now they could let sleeping dogs lie. Couldn't they?

Snape made his way to his bed and set up the necessary precautions around his room. He then sat down on the leather armchair in the corner of the room.

Would everything go back to normal, or would the bigheaded brat try to seek him out for "fatherly advice?" Snape snorted at the thought. The brat may want a father, but there was too much hatred between the two to ever forge a bridge. You can't make a bridge when there aren't any materials.

But would the boy look past all that? Would he assume that Snape's new position would mean a new outlook? No, that was absurd. The boy hated him and hated the knowledge that there was a connection and the fact that James Blasted Potter wasn't his real father.

And he was just going to ignore it ALL. The fact that the brat was his son didn't change how he looked at him. No, Snape knew know that neither would change their opinions of the other no matter what.

With that thought in his head, Snape went over to his bedside table and took out a bottle of dreamless sleep. And after a single gulp, he laid down on his green and silver bedspread.

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Harry woke the next morning to the sounds of loud snores coming from the bed next to him. Rolling over he saw Ron sprawled across his bed, snoring. Harry rolled his eyes and sat up. 

For a second, one glorious second, he couldn't remember why he had gone to bed angry. Then it hit him. Snape was his father. The man that he had hated for four long years was his father. Misery and disgust crept into him like a drug seeping through his veins.

Harry let out a sigh. Why was this happening to him? But wait, that was an old question, and one that just about everyone knew the answer too. There were more pressing matter to think of now, like what was Harry going to do with this new knowledge.

The only course of action he could think of was inaction. He wouldn't treat... that man... any differently than before. He was Professor Snape. And he'd slept with his mother... no. Harry shuddered and forced the thought from his mind. How could this be? He thought of his father's, or rather, James', face, of his messy hair and the smile he'd seen in pictures. These didn't belong to him anymore. He wasn't sure he could face the alternative.

That worried him, but then again Harry didn't, couldn't look that different. Did this change who he was? Did it, would it change how everyone looked at him? Harry shook his head. He didn't know the question, and wasn't sure he wanted the answers, anyway.

With a sigh, Harry got up, rubbed his eyes, and made his way to the door. He opened it quietly and made his way to the kitchen.

There were no lights turned on anywhere in the house, and for once Harry was grateful. However, it did make the house kind of creepy. As Harry made his way downstairs, he noticed dark, oddly shaped things on the wall. On closer examination, he found the heads of house elves mounted like hunting animals.

He couldn't help but gasp. There were about ten stuffed house elf heads bordering the stairs. All were weirdly shaped and had large blind eyes that stared at him as he hurried past.

Once on the landing, he made his way quickly to what he hoped was the kitchen. From a sliver of light coming from the bottom of the door Harry hoped he was right, but if not, at least it wouldn't be pitch black.

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Snape woke up the next morning at Hogwarts feeling absolved. Now that the brat thing had been taken care, it was time get back to his own life. 

Snape got dressed and made his way to the Great Hall to have a early breakfast before he went back to his workroom and finished a potion that supposedly would cure his headache. Not that he had one now, but with the fist day of school creeping closer Snape knew that he would need it very soon. Teaching potions to first years would give anyone a migraine. And every year was the same.

Snape sat down at an empty table and looked down at his plate, thinking of what he wanted for breakfast. But at that moment nothing sounded appetizing, not even toast. Snape left the table exasperatedly, thinking about all the time he had wasted; time that could have been spent on a potion or reading.

Snape was stirring his potion when he heard a knock at his door. Without looking up, Snape grabbed a bezoar on the table and used his knife to cut it into perfect, tiny slices, which he then dropped into his simmering cauldron. Only when the potion had stopped changing from green to a vivid shade of purple did Snape leave the potion and make his way to the door.

Snape opened the door to find none other than Dumbledore standing in the doorway.

"Why, Headmaster, what can I do for you so early in the morning?" Snape said as he glanced back at his potion.

"Severus, we have a lot to discuss before the start of the new school year. And I would have liked to discuss it over breakfast, but you seem to have forgotten it, along with your manners. It appears that you forgotten the letter that I sent to you last night which said that I wanted a word at breakfast," said Dumbldore said quit mildly, yet there was a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

"I must have forgotten, how horrible of me," sneered Snape. He did not want to talk to the Headmaster because the had no doubt that Harry "pain in the ass" Potter would be spoken of. And Snape wanted nothing more to do with it. It was the past that now came back to haunt him, but that didn't mean he had to confront it.

"Please don't try to deceive me, Severus," said Dumbledore in a slightly escalated tone, "I'm not here to speak about Harry, but we will surely talk about him once you have come to face the situation. I'm here to talk about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"What about her, Headmaster? I'm rather busy at the moment, and don't have time to talk about what may or may not happen this year," said Snape, feeling relieved. He walked over to his potion and began to stir it, all the while inspecting it to make sure it developed properly.

"She'll be all over the school. I suspect she will try to spread the Ministry's influence as far as possible. She may try to use the students against us, or even the teachers, to see what I'm up to," said Dumbledore.

"That is not a problem as of yet, but I agree that she may become a problem. Fudge does seem to become more paranoid by the minute. And if the Potter bra…. if Potter is cleared at his hearing it might push Fudge over the edge. I think we should wait and see. We'll see what happens and act as we see fit when the time comes." whispered Snape as he continued with his potion, chopping different ingredients and adding then accordingly.

"Harry will be cleared, Severus. I have no doubts about it, but Fudge will try to make it difficult. He wants to get me for something and I think he feels that he'll be able to affect me through Harry."

"Headmaster, he's not the only one who feels he can get to you through Potter. The Dark Lord feels that you are close to the boy; closer than a normal pupil and headmaster should be. He's hoping to use this connection to manipulate, or even use the boy against you. I suggest you distance yourself from him as much as possible this year, and for as long as the Dark Lord feels he can abuse the situation," said Snape finally turning to look at the Headmaster straight on. He looked as if he was speaking seriously for the first time since Dumbledore had entered the room.

Dumbledore was wiping his half moon spectacles on his purple and blue robes. Obviously in deep thought, he replaced the glasses and turned to look at Severus.

"You are right of course, Severus, though I fear that my distance will be one too many things for Harry to deal with at the moment. With Harry returning from the summer break, he's going to be talked about more this year then any other so far. That combined with the Daily Prophet's daily mockery could make him miserable." Dumbledore looked at Snape, and Snape saw the pain in his eyes. Snape hardened. Dumbledore had promised not to speak of the nuisance.

"That is no concern of mine, Headmaster, and it shouldn't be yours either. Knowing Potter, he will face what comes to him just as he always has. As for the gossip, it couldn't be any worse than his second year, or last year. Now, if you'll excuse me, Headmaster, I have to get back to my potion. It's at a very tricky sate and it needs my undivided attention."

Dumbledore looked a little taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "Of course, Severus. I'll leave you to it, though I may need to borrow some of that brew from you in the very near future. I'll talk to you after Harry's trial tomorrow and we will discuss things further." And with that, Dumbledore turned and headed back to his own office.

Snape didn't know how the Headmaster had known that he had been brewing a headache potion, but it didn't matter. He agreed. Dumbledore would probably need it very soon.

* * *

Harry peeked into the room and found that it was indeed the kitchen, but it wasn't empty. Sitting at the far end of the table was his godfather. When Harry opened the door a little wider, Sirius turned. 

"Harry, what are you doing up at this hour?" stammered Sirius.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Harry in almost a whisper. He felt a surge of anger, and he had no idea where it came from or why. What was this?

"Well, no matter. You're more than welcome to sit down. Can I get you anything- coffee, tea?" asked Sirius, standing up.

"Er, tea I guess, thanks," said Harry sort of sheepishly. "Sirius, what is this place anyway?"

"I'm surprised no one told you that yet, Harry. This is my house, or rather my parents' house, but now that they're dead, well. You get the point. And I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters for the Order. It's been about the most useful thing I've been able to do," added Sirius in a sulky tone.

"Why's that, can't you go out? You could change into a dog, couldn't you?," asked Harry.

"No, I don't think that's possible anymore. According to Snape, Wormtail told Voldemort everything when he got back. And since the Ministry still has a price on my head it's dangerous to go out as myself, obviously."

Sirius handed Harry his tea and pushed the sugar bowl towards him.

At that moment, Harry felt a little better. At least his life wasn't the only one that wasn't going right. At least he, Harry, could go out in public. He tried to imagine Sirius' situation. Harry couldn't imagine the isolation, the loneliness...

They sat there in silence, each deep in thought. The only sound was that of the sipping of tea.

After what felt like ages, they could hear the sounds of movement upstairs.

"Sounds like Molly's up, at least," said Sirius.

Harry nodded, but his throat was too dry to really talk at the moment, despite with the tea.

They didn't have to wait long for a disheveled-looking Mrs. Weasley to come through the door followed closely by the twins, who had apparated with a loud crack.

"It would have taken you five seconds to come down the stairs, but no! You had to show off and Fred you just about landed on my toe!" Mrs. Weasley threw her hands in the air with frustration.

"Mum, we're sorry. It won't happen again," said either Fred or George in a monotonous voice, but more likely Fred.

"Yeah, Mum, we're sorry," echoed the other, more likely George.

Completely ignoring them, Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry and asked, " Is there anything I can get for you Harry dear, some eggs and bacon?"

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry with a smile that felt unfamiliar. Noticing the difference, Harry's grin faded immediately.

Mrs. Weasely turned to the stove and with a flick of her wand she started to cut up some bacon and soon the room was full of the warm smells of breakfast.

It wasn't long until Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys were sitting around the around the table talking and laughing, and nobody really seemed to notice that Harry wasn't participating. His plate of bacon and eggs sat untouched on his plate and Harry regretted asking Mrs. Weasely for it.

Harry wanted to get away from the noise, to be alone, yet he didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts. But sitting at the table was doing nothing for him and Harry was sure that no one would notice if he left. He was the closest to the door and everyone seemed to be engaged in what they were doing. So, slowly and quietly, Harry got up and left the room quite unnoticed. Or so he thought.

Harry turned to what he knew to be the library and entered, headed for the couch nearby, and sat down. All of a sudden he felt very tired and his scar, his blasted scar, was tingling again and to top it all off he couldn't get the terrifying thought of his Ministry hearing out of his head. A little voice whispered, 'You could get expelled.'

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He didn't notice a mane of red hair enter the room. Not until it came right in front of him and knelt down next to him did he notice that Ginny was in front of him, her head tilted to one side like a dog.

"Harry, what's wrong? You seem really off today," asked Ginny in a small, quiet voice.

"It's nothing, Ginny. Please leave me alone. I want to think." mumbled Harry

"No, Harry. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you, besides the obvious with Snape," insisted Ginny.

Harry flinched slightly at the name. He had tried so hard to try and forget about it all.

"I wasn't thinking about him," Harry snapped back, "I was thinking about the blasted hearing and all the other crap that's wrong. It's not fair, Ginny." Harry closed his eyes. He sounded like a baby.

"Oh Harry," murmured Ginny. " It'll all work itself out in the end. Everything always does."

"What if it doesn't?" asked Harry quietly.

"It will, Harry. Maybe not in the way you expect it, but it will," said Ginny in a reassured tone.

The world seemed to collapse in on itself and Harry broke down. He didn't really understand it, but he was sad, confused, and he just felt so hopeless in that instant. He felt like a hole somewhere inside him had opened up, and that the whole world was against him. But after he let himself go, he felt a wash of relief. He didn't even think about the fact that he was crying in front of Ginny.

He sat there sobbing dry tears for who knows how long. He thought he heard the door open, but Ginny didn't leave him and nobody else seemed to bother him. And after a while he fell quiet, feeling better then he had in a long while. It felt like that little bit of crying had been the cure that he had needed. For the first time since his talk with Snape yesterday, he thought he might be able to face whatever came his was the next day.

Harry and Ginny sat there until dinner, talking about everything except the hearing, Snape, or Voldemort. They talked about Quidditch, and Ginny filled Harry in with everything that was going on to her best knowledge. And by the time Hermione came in to announce that dinner was ready, Harry felt better about his outlook on the upcoming trial, if nothing else.

* * *

The day of the trial brought an impending doom in Harry's heart. He suddenly felt like the conversation he had had with Ginny had done nothing more than mask the truth of what was going to happen that day. Harry lay in bed listening to his heart race at the thought of the trial, not to mention the thought of being expelled. 

Harry heard a soft knock on the door and Mrs. Weasley came in and walked over to his bed.

"Oh, good, you're up. Now, put on the pants and shirt that I ironed for you last night, and try to do something with your hair. I'll have breakfast for you downstairs, try not to wake Ron." said Mrs. Weasley in a soft voice.

With a sigh, Harry sat up and put his clothes on, taking care not to wake Ron and headed downstairs not even bothering to try to tame his hair.

Harry sat in the kitchen with a plate of scrambled eggs sitting in front of him. His stomach churned at the sight of it. And he sat there waiting for the time to leave. As he sat there waiting, Mr. Weasley came in and ate with him. Harry hardly noticed, but Tonks and Sirius joined them also.

Tonks and Sirius were having a conversation about the hearing, but Harry was oblivious. He just nodded his head when he felt their eyes upon him. And soon he heard the scraping of a chair and Arthur's voice saying, "Come on Harry, I think it'll be good if we set off sooner rater than later. You can come see my office!"

Harry nodded and made to get up.

"Wait a moment, Harry. Let me try to fix your hair," said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry felt the cold trickle of what must have been water dripping down his neck, and felt Mrs. Weasley using a wet comb in a valiant attempt to brush Harry's hair down.

"Doesn't this ever lay flat?" asked an exasperated Mrs. Weasley.

"No, not really," sighed Harry. And with that he moved his head and stood up.

"Well then, good luck Harry. Speak clearly. And don't lose your temper," said Mrs. Weasley.

"And if the ask about your new appearance," added Sirius, "Which I don't think they will, just say that you experienced a growth spurt over the summer."

"Right" said Harry as they made his way to the door and out into the sun light.

* * *

The hearing went by fast for Harry, though not as he had expected it to. First, he couldn't believe that he had been tried in a an actual courtroom to start with. What was this, a felony charge? To top it off, they had brought his appearance into account and had tried to charge him with using magic to change it before the hearing. Though he had gotten cleared, and he was happy about that, he was a little upset that Dumbledore hadn't spoken to him at all; hadn't even looked at him. 

Still, as he sat around the Weasley table eating dinner he definitely felt better; like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. He felt happy for the first time that summer.

* * *

Snape was pacing the Headmaster's office, waiting to hear what had happened to Potter. Not that he cared, but he never liked to be in the dark about anything. He almost hoped the brat would be expelled. Then he wouldn't have to worry about how everyone was going to react when the brat got to school. Not that Snape cared what people said behind hios back, he just didn't want another source of a headache. 

Snape had stopped to stare out the window in the office, watching the thestrals chase each other through the treetops, when the door opened and Dumbledore stepped in.

"Well," asked Snape in a cool voice, "What's the verdict?"

"Harry was cleared of all charges. Though if Fudge had had his way, it seemed he would have sentenced Harry to a lifetime in Azkaban along with expelling him from Hogwarts," said Dumbledore wearily.

"Well, at least that will make some things easier. We won't have to worry about trying to protect him in Azkaban," said Snape darkly.

"Yes, but Umbridge will probably make Harry's life all the more complicated because of it. Harry's acquittal will anger some very important Ministry officials," sighed Dumbledore.

"As long as he keeps his head down there won't be a problem. Knowing Potter, though, he probably won't be able to keep his temper under control," sneered Snape.

Dumbledore sighed, "Only time will tell. Though we may have to do something about the boys nightmares, or rather, his visions."

"What visions?" asked Snape blankly.

"I am referring to when Harry sees into Voldemort's mind, when he seems to become Voldmort. I thought you knew about them, Severus."

"I knew there was a connection, but Voldemort never mentioned anything else. That is very interesting…" muttered Snape.

" Quite interesting, yes. However, if he acts as you have predicted and uses his connection to Harry, we could all be in grave danger."

"He'll need to learn Occlumency if he is to shut his mind to the Dark Lord."

"Yes, that would help him, but I probably shouldn't be the one to teach him. Do you think that you could teach him, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"No, Headmaster, I won't teach Potter," he spat the name, "any more then I have to. He doesn't listen and is self-obsessed. I think I've more than earned a break from him for a while"

"Alright, Severus. For now you won't have to teach him, but there may come a time when we won't have a choice, and you will have to. And, should that time come, I won't hear a word against it," Dumbledore eyed Severus over his half moon spectacles.

"We'll see," said Snape begrudgingly.

And with that, Snape turned on his heel, robe billowing behind him, and left the office. He was heading for his own office, where he would use some of the potion that he had brewed earlier that week.

* * *

Important A/N: While I love writing this story, I have been geting a little bored and that shows with the lack of updates so I was thinking that I might switch things up a bit. How would you guys feel if I went vampire on you? Just a thought if you don't loke let me know and i'll continue as is, if you like let me know and i kick things up a notch. And as always please review. Sugestions Welcome. Oh FYI it would be Snape and possible Harry turning into vampires, incase you didn't get that.(cough, pointbalnk1, cough, cough) 


	9. Ch 9 Shared Blood

**Chapter 9**

**Shared Blood**

* * *

** Disclaimer: **Well I still haven't won the right to Harry Potter (yet), so it still belongs to J.K Rowling. Though I'm sure that you would prefer her to write the stories so I guess I should just give up on it. So yeah, I don't own Harry or Snape :'( 

**A/N: **Well I have started making an outline about how I want this story to go. I'm finally organized, yay me. And for all of you who have me on author alert, you might get one soon I have started writing another story. I'm not going to say what it is about, but Snape is in it and I have most of the outline written, so make your suggestions early for it. Lol. I would again like to thank pointblank1 for correcting my errors, there are a lot. She works hard. READ HER STORY!! Don't you love advertisements? Hope you enjoy, if you don't like how the story is going then let me know- I can always change it. I am adaptable, now enough of this, enjoy.**  
**

* * *

"_Alright, Severus. For now you won't have to teach him, but there may come a time when we won't have a choice, and you will have to. And, should that time come, I won't hear a word against it," Dumbledore eyed Severus over his half moon spectacles._

"_We'll see," said Snape begrudgingly._

_And with that, Snape turned on his heel, robe billowing behind him, and left the office. He was heading for his own office, where he would use some of the potion that he had brewed earlier that week._

The prefect badges have come, Ron has gotten his broom, and Harry got on the train with not so much as a second glance……….

Harry led Ginny through the train, weird glances followed him as some glanced out their windows to see a semi-familiar boy walk in front of the Weasley girl. They had almost reached the back of the train when they ran into Neville.

"Hi, Ginny. Everywhere's full," said Neville brightly. Neville didn't seem to notice Harry, which suited him fine.

Ginny looked into the next apartment that sat to the left of where they were standing.

"Well, Neville we can go in this one. There's only Luna Lovegood , and I don't think she'll mind," said Ginny

Neville muttered something about not wanting to bother anyone, but stood behind Ginny as she opened the door that led to the compartment.

"Hi Luna, would it be alright if we joined you?" asked Ginny.

Luna nodded, and Ginny, Neville and Harry brought their trunks in and sat down. Once they were seated all eyes were on Harry; he had been thrown in the spotlight. Neville's eyes grew wide as he recognized his friend.

"Wow, Harry, is that you? I didn't recognize you. You look so different. What happened, did you try to make a potion and did it go wrong, or is this just a new look that you wanted to try out?" asked Neville, eyes bright with excitement.

"No, Neville, it's just growing pains, if you can call them that. You know- your appearance changes when you grow up. Well, mine changed pretty… drastically," muttered Harry in a gloomy voice.

"Oh, right," said Neville, now looking doubtful, "Well I though, um…" he trailed off as Harry shot him a look that clearly stated that Harry would have no problem jinxing him if he went any further.

Neville changed the subject, "Oh, Harry, do you want to see what my Uncle Alfred got me? It's really cool!"

Harry didn't reply. He just stared out the window and ignored Neville. He wanted to just sink into the seat. He wanted to disappear.

Neville looked over to Ginny, who rolled her eyes and said, "Well come on, Neville, let's see this plant that your uncle got you."

Neville smiled and asked Ginny if she could hold Trevor, his toad. Ginny obliged as Neville handed the toad over and started rummaging around in his trunk.

Harry couldn't help but glance over and watch as Neville found his plant. The plant in question resembled a cactus, except instead of needles it had boils, and it pulsed slightly. Neville pulled it out and sat it on his lap.

Harry turned away as Neville proudly announced what it was. He wanted nothing to do with the plant. It was just a plant, for crying out loud. Buried in his own thoughts, Harry didn't see what Neville did next. The next thing Harry knew, he was covered in a sticky, smelly, foul-looking sap.

Harry stood up abruptly and glowered at Neville, who was covered from head to toe in the sap. Ginny looked similar to Neville in that she too was a mess. Luna, who had gone back to a magazine that she had been reading earlier, had just a few drops of it on the cover of her magazine. Putting the magazine down, she turned and looked around with mild surprise.

"Well, that was interesting," sighed Luna.

Harry turned to her sharply, "Well, don't just sit there!"

Ginny was the first to comply, sighing she handed Trevor to Luna and took out her wand. With a quick scowl at Harry, she waved her wand and said, "Scourgify."

The Sap quickly disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.

"Hmm," said Luna, "I guess that's better." She turned her magazine over to make sure that it was all right.

Harry, still frowning, turned to look out at the countryside that whizzed past them. He took no notice of the food trolley that came in, and didn't even glance at Hermione and Ron when they entered.

The rest of the trip went by pretty uneventfully. They weren't even bothered by the appearance of Draco Malfoy and his two gits, which Harry was thankful for. He didn't want to deal with Malfoy when he, Harry, was feeling so miserable. Somewhere along the line, Hermione suggested that they change into their uniforms, and Harry changed with Ron and Neville while the girls stepped out for a bit. Once changed, Harry resumed his spot by the window.

All too soon for Harry, the train started to slow down and came to a halt. Ron and Hermione excused themselves so that they could lead the train's passengers onto the carriages. Harry took little notice of there absence however, and made his way to the nearest carriage.

Thankfully, Ginny, Luna, and Neville followed closely behind. He didn't think that he could handle trying to explain himself to anyone else tonight. Harry had just reached the door when Ron and Hermione came hurrying up to the group.

"Good, you got a carriage," panted Hermione.

"Yeah, come on, I want to get this over with. Can we go now?" asked a frustrated Harry.

Harry had just turned to look at Ron when he caught sight of it. There was something where there had been nothing, and it was pulling the carriage. It was horse-like in appearance, but black and scaly with dark wings folded at its sides. If he had to describe them, he would say that they were skeletal black horses with wings, but not even that did them any justice.

As Hermione climbed into the carriage, Harry turned to Ron and poked him in the side.

"Ouch," gasped Ron, "What is it, Harry? God, that hurt."

Harry rolled his eyes and nodded toward the strange horse, "Well, I wanted to get your attention. Do you know what that thing is pulling the carriage?"

Ron stared at Harry with a funny look, then looked over at the harnesses.

"Um, Harry, there's nothing pulling the carriage. It's horse-less as always, that why they're called the horseless carriages, mate," said Ron.

"But," stammered Harry, "They're right there. Can't you- don't you see them?"

Ron looked at Harry and asked, "Are you sure you're feeling okay, Harry? You do seem a bit off." The others were staring at him now.

Ron looked worriedly at Harry, then motioned with his head to the carriage, "Come on, Harry. Let's go, once you've eaten you'll feel loads better."

And with that, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione got into the carriage, leaving Harry outside with Luna. Luna looked over at the horses that Harry was staring at.

"You know, I can see them too," whispered Luna as she looked back at Harry, wide-eyed, "you're not going crazy, if that's what you were thinking. You're just as sane as I am."

Luna turned and got into the carriage.

Harry looked back at the horse-like thing and sighed, "Please don't let me be crazy." Then he turned and got into the carriage.

* * *

Snape sat in his study, writing up some last-minute notices that would be posted in the Slytherin Common room later. He always wrote out the rules and other important dates. He would let the prefects deal with the rest. 

Snape refused point-blank to talk to his Slytherins the first night, or any night if he could manage it. As long as Malfoy and Pansy did their jobs he would have no need to go into the Slytherin common room.

With a flourish of his quill, he finished the last of the notices. Putting the quill aside, he picked up his wand and enchanted the notices. They flew out of the room. Now that he'd finished those he would have to make his way to the Great Hall.

He had hoped that could skip the feast, but the Headmaster had stamped on that earlier that day. He even told Snape that if he didn't show up he would cut some of the funding that was going to the Potions Department. Snape didn't really take the threat to heart, but he didn't want to push the Headmaster either.

Snape hoped against hope that nobody would notice the brat-who-wouldn't-drop-dead's new appearance. He still hadn't told the Dark Lord, and he hoped to keep it a secret from him a little longer.

It wasn't that he was afraid of telling the Dark Lord. He was just afraid of what the Dark Lord would do with the new information. A part of him was concerned that this would make it harder to lead his double life.

Snape decided that, if he absolutely had to, he would just tell the Dark Lord that Harry's true parentage had become a moot point when Dumbledore had "forced" Snape to make the Unbreakable Vow. He was sure that the Dark Lord would force him to show the memory of the incident, and Snape hoped against hope that there wasn't loophole in the Vow.

* * *

Harry made it to the Gryffindor table without too many looks and he started to feel a little bit of hope stirring in his chest. Maybe he could make it though the school year like everything was normal. 

Harry glanced towards the head table and looked at each of the teachers in turn, except, of course, Snape. Harry's eyes stopped at a teacher sitting in the Defense Against the Dark Arts seat. It was the same woman that had been at his hearing. Harry turned to Hermione to tell her this, but Dumbledore stood up.

Silence fell in the Great Hall.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. To our new students- welcome. To our old-welcome back. I hope that you all had a great summer and now that your heads are all nice and empty you can take this year to fill them up……" He continued with his usual quirky greetings. Harry couldn't stop looking at that woman. She'd voted against him at his Ministry hearing, when almost nobody else did.

The woman stood up next, preparing to speak. She announced that her name was Dolores Umbridge, and she'd be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts (as Harry had suspected). She went on and on, droning about how the Ministry was going to "help" Hogwarts.

"Well, that was enlightening," whispered Hermione when Umbridge finally stopped talking.

"Your not telling me you enjoyed that, are you?" stammered Ron.

"I said enlightening, not enjoyable, Ron. You need to get a dictionary," snapped Hermione. "I just mean she explained a lot in that speech."

"Like what?," whispered Harry.

"Like why we have her for a teacher. Also, the Ministry is taking over the school. That's what," said Hermione. "Now hush, I want to listen to the rest of what Dumbledore has to say."

Before Harry knew it, the feast was over. Benches scraped against the floor as everyone made to get up and get to their common rooms.

"Come on, Ron. We have to show the first years to the Common Room," said Hermione over the noise.

"Right! Hey, all you squirts, get over here," shouted Ron.

"Ron, you can't call them names!" exclaimed Hermione. "First years over here, please. First years, over here."

"They are squirts, though," whispered Ron to Harry.

Harry nodded back at Ron as a few came their way. "You know, I don't remember us being that small when we were first years, do you?" asked Harry

"No, we definitely weren't… well, I guess we'll see you in the common room," whispered Ron miserably as he stared at Hermione, who was leading the first years out of the Great Hall.

"Yeah, I'll see you," replied Harry just as miserably as Ron.

Harry lagged back a bit as he made his way up to the Common Room. He was planning on getting there after everyone had gone to sleep so that he wouldn't have to answer any awkward questions.

Unnoticed by anyone, Harry slipped behind a tapestry in an abandoned corridor on the 5th floor. Slumping against the wall, Harry cradled his head in his hands.

What on earth was he going to do about his appearance? He couldn't go on avoiding people forever. It would eventually get out that he looked differently then he had at the end of last year.

Harry sat there as long as possible before he finally looked down at his watch and saw that it was a quarter to midnight. Well, at least he had avoided the other students' stares. Now he just had to avoid the teachers as he made his way up to the Common Room.

On his way up, Harry narrowly avoided being spotted by Professor McGonagall as she made her way from, Harry guessed, the Gryffindor Common Room. Thankfully, there was a statue of armor to his right and he ducked behind it before she saw him. Once she had passed, Harry made his way to the Fat Lady's portrait.

Once outside the picture, Harry looked up at the Fat Lady and opened his mouth before he realized that he had no idea what the password was. He stared, dumb-founded, as he looked up at the Fat Lady.

"Password?" asked the fat lady.

"Umm, I don't know what it is. Could you possibly let someone inside know that I'm here?" asked Harry hopefully.

"I'll see if anyone is still up," said the Fat Lady in a stiff manner. She walked out of her frame.

"Um, thanks," whispered Harry almost to himself.

Harry waited there for what felt like forever. Minutes passed by slowly, and Harry felt a sinking feeling. What if everyone had already gone to bed? Surely Ron had noticed that his best friend hadn't showed up yet? Harry was hoping against hope that Ron had at least stayed awake.

Eventually, the Fat Lady squeezed back into her frame, and before Harry could open his mouth the door creaked open. Harry said a polite "thank you" to the Fat Lady and climbed in.

Once through, Harry saw that it wasn't Ron that had waited for him, but Ginny. She smiled at him. And before he could say anything, Ginny spoke up.

"Well, I had noticed that you hadn't come back, and I kind of figured that you would want to avoid the commotion. That's why I waited up," said Ginny.

"Right, well thanks. I don't think it would have been too great to sleep in the hallway on the first night back." replied Harry.

"No, it wouldn't. Well, it's late. I don't want to fall asleep in class on the second day back, either" sighed Ginny.

"Yeah, thanks again, Ginny. Good night." muttered Harry.

"Night," whispered Ginny with a small smile.

Harry headed over to the boys staircase and went up to his room. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, Harry could feel it.

* * *

Even though Harry was the last to fall asleep that night, he was the first to wake in the morning. His thinking was that he would get his breakfast and then get to class before anyone spoke to him. He knew that this wouldn't work forever, but he sure was going to try. 

Harry got dressed and, before the sun even rose above the trees, left for the Great Hall.

The halls were quiet. By the time Harry had reached the Great Hall, there were already a few students at each table. Many of the teachers were at the Head table eating a fast breakfast before going back to their classrooms.

Harry went to the farthest end of the table, which happened to be directly in front of the Head table. Sitting down, Harry got himself some porridge and toast and began to eat as fast as he could.

As soon as he had finished, he hurried out of the Great Hall, but before he had escaped he heard a sharp cry from behind him.

"Mister Potter, get back here! You need your schedule," snapped Professor McGonagall.

Harry sighed and waited, not willing to move any closer the Great Hall than he had to. McGonagall made her way swiftly up to him.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. Taking out her wand, she tapped the parchment and handed it to him.

"There you go, Mister Potter. Now you may go," said McGonagall crisply.

"Thanks, Professor," murmured Harry.

Turning from her, he made his way down a random corridor and behind the first tapestry he saw. Harry glanced at his schedule and let out a low moan. His very first class was Potions.

Perfect.

Sighing, Harry made his way to the dungeons, hoping that the door was unlocked and the room unoccupied.

* * *

To Harry's surprise, the door was, in fact, unlocked. Still, Harry hesitated before pushing it open. He dreaded spending any more time then what was necessary with Snape. Harry looked around and saw that there was another excellent hiding place right across from the door. 

Harry couldn't believe his luck. He could avoid everyone till the last minute, and then right before the bell rang he could slip in and nobody would be the wiser.

Harry spent his time behind the statue of armor, looking through his potions book. He skimmed through the first chapter, hoping that if Snape did call on him he would at least know the answer. To his surprise, he was actually enjoying what he was reading. It was all very interesting. The first chapter was on detecting dark potions and how to tell them apart by their colors, smells, and consistencies. Harry was amazed to learn that the Draft of Smoke, which would cause its user to slowly die from suffocation, was so similar to the Draft of Life, which would counteract the Draft of Smoke. The two were often mixed up! The only noticeable difference between the two potions was that the Draft of Life smelled a bit like Smoke, whereas the Draft of Smoke had no smell. Harry found himself becoming completely absorbed by the textbook…

Harry heard a stampede of people coming towards him. A quick glance around the statue showed that breakfast was ending and people were now standing outside of the classroom door. Harry closed his book and quietly put it away before turning so that he could see through the gap between the statue's legs.

The first to arrive were, of course, the Slytherins. Harry couldn't think of any Gryffindor in their right mind who would voluntarily get to Potions early.

Harry caught snippets of conversation, most of which seemed to be about their new course schedules.

"Aw man, we still have Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors," shrieked one girl.

"Damn, I had hoped that they'd have changed that, at least," said a boy with a gruff voice.

Just then, the Gryffindors started showing up, complaining about still having to take Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins.

Harry waited, listening to the jibes being sent between Gryffindors and Slytherins. From where he was sitting he could see that Hermione and Ron had finally arrived both, to Harry's mild surprise, looked worried.

Well, he thought, they didn't have any reason to be scared. Obviously he was going to avoid people! Then again, he hadn't seen either of them since the feast. Harry felt a twinge of guilt, but he pushed it aside.

Harry looked away from his friends when the door to the Potion's classroom flew open. Snape looked out, eyed each of the students, and sneered as he saw Ron and Hermione.

Finally, he stood aside and watched as they all passed in. Ron and Hermione were the last to enter, and they shot a worried glance down the corridor before glaring at Snape as they entered. Leaving the door open, Snape went to stand in front of the class.

This was Harry's chance. Getting up, Harry ran across the hall so that he could get into the room before the bell rang. And, just as he entered the classroom, the bell rang. Harry sighed and moved to sit in between his two best friends.

* * *

Snape glared as the good-for-nothing brat he came in and took his seat at the last possible second. He understood why the brat wanted to arrive late. But that change Snape's feelings. 

Snape turned and surveyed the class.

"This is your fifth year at this school and, as such, you will have to take your O.W.L.S at the end of this year," whispered Snape in a quiet, dangerous voice. "Those of you wishing to take my N.E.W.T class will have to achieve at least an Outstanding on your O.W.L.S. This means that some of us will be saying good bye. But unfortunately, that happy day is a year away and until then I expect all for you to work as hard as you can You all should scrape an Acceptable at the very least."

Snape turned to the chalkboard at the front of the class and tapped it with his wand.

"Instructions are on the board. You have the whole class period. Begin," said Snape curtly.

There was a rush as everyone got up to get the ingredients that were on the board.

Looking around, he decided that everyone would be busy enough so that he could easily work on a potion in his private room.

* * *

Harry hoped that he would go unnoticed by everyone, maybe even by Draco Malfoy. Unfortunately, he clearly was going to have no such luck. 

"Hey, Potter! What did you do to your face?" shrieked Pansy Parkinson.

"Potter, why would you want to look more like Professor Snape? I mean, anything's an improvement, of course, but honestly," said Draco, loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

Harry turned red and whipped out his wand without a moment's thought.

"One more word, Malfoy," whispered Harry menacingly.

"What Potter, are you going to hex me? You wouldn't dare, not right here in Snape's room," goaded Malfoy. If he was really worried, he hid it well.

They stood there staring at each other for a moment, then Malfoy's eyes widened. His eyes flicked from Snape's office door, to Harry, and back.

Harry could see a smirk growing on Malfoy's pointed face. And before Harry could even think of a hex Draco exclaimed. "I think I figured you out, Potter. Snape's your dad!" Malfoy laughed hysterically, as if he'd made a hilarious joke.

Not everyone took it as a joke, though. Harry could see people's faces, and some of them were looking at him very strangely. Wonder dawned on just about everyone's face, except for Crabbe's, of course. _He_ looked like he'd been hit with a shovel, as usual.

Harry raised his wand and lost control. "He's not my father, Malfoy! There is no way in HELL that he is my father!"

* * *

Snape stepped into the room at that moment to see what was going on. He had heard some shouting and whoever had interrupted his potion was going to get a month's worth of detention, for it was now ruined. 

Snape stood, stunned at what he saw: a very angry Potter with his wand out, and a very excited Malfoy getting his wand out. Snape could guess what Malfoy had just deduced from the look on Potter's face. But before he could do anything but gape, Potter shouted a curse.

* * *

Harry couldn't take any more and with out warning he shouted, "Confringo!" 

Harry stood, chest heaving, as Draco fell to the ground. Harry had created an explosion, which had apparently hit Draco. What a shame. Without another word Harry left, blasting the door open before sprinting out onto the grounds.

Harry didn't know where he was going to go, but he had to get out of there. He was left with little choice. He figured it was either the Forbidden Forest or the lake. Well, he didn't have any gillyweed, so the lake was out. His only hope was that the daylight would keep any deadly creatures at bay.

Harry sprinted towards the Forest, trying not to think about what he'd just done.

* * *

Snape watched as his godson was hit by the force of the explosion. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Snape pushed his way past the students to get to Draco. With a quick diagnostic spell, Snape knew Draco's condition. His right arm was horribly damaged, and his sides and neck were badly burned. Snape honestly didn't know if Draco could recover. Snape's number one priority, though, was maintaining his composure. 

"Well, what are you all looking at? I need someone to take Mister Malfoy up to the Hospital wing. I need to go find Potter," growled Snape. "No one is to touch their potions. For that matter, I want all of you to go to the Great Hall and wait there for further instructions."

Snape swept past the students, not even looking back to see if his orders were being followed. They would be, of course. As he broke into a run, he had a good idea of where the idiot had headed. Snape ran towards the Forbidden Forest.

Snape stopped outside the Forest. Deciding to play it smart, he sent his Partronus to the Headmaster to let him know the situation. He didn't even look at his Patronus as he produced it and sent its message to Dumbledore.

Snape gripped his wand and walked smoothly into the foreboding forest.

He hardly noticed how deep he was inside the woods until he looked up and realized that he couldn't see the sky.

He decided to use his Patronus to search from this point on. Pointing his wand right in front of him he shouted, "Expecto Patonum!" This time, he did look at his Patronus as it galloped away, but didn't make him feel any better.

Snape stood absolutely still and waited. To his surprise, it didn't take long before he saw a light in front of him. Snape gathered up his energy and ran.

Snape broke into a clearing and saw something that would later haunt his dreams. The brat was pressed against a huge tree, holding his wand in front of him, trying to repel a vampire.

Snape had no idea how a vampire had gotten into the Forest. It was supposed to be safe from vampires, but that wouldn't cross Snape's mind until days later.

Without considering what he was doing, Snape took a step forward. There was a "crack" when he accidentally stepped onto a twig. He couldn't believe his skills as a spy had failed him. He had broken one of the first rules: watch your feet.

The vampire turned and smiled at Snape. The creature's white teeth seemed to glow in the darkness. Then, before Snape could blink, he found himself pinned by his throat against a tree. With a loud thud, his head hit the trunk.

The vampire's red eyes glowed as he spoke, "You know, Severus, it's been so long. I was going to turn the boy for fun, and because I am hungry, but I think I'll leave that and change you instead."

* * *

I love cliff hangers, don't you? Lol! Will Snape be changed?Or will he remain human? You will find out in the next chapter. And guess what you get to pick when i release it. Because I have already written Chapter 10. So give me Reviews or I'll wait two weeks to release it. I'm mean i know. 


	10. Chapter 10 The Changing Tide

**Chapter 10**

**The Changing Tide**

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** Disclaimer: **Well you all should know by now that I don't own Harry Potter (sigh) or Severus Snape (bigger sigh).

**Arthur's Note:**Don't you love cliff hangers? I do. I'm sorry it took a bit longer to get out, but Pointblank1 had her wisdom teeth removed and if u know what that is like then you will understand why it took so long, but I did have this done last Monday so, ya. So you all should rejoice and be happy. Again, a special thanks to Pointblank1, who saves my ass by correcting most, if not all, of my errors. So please, do me a favor and read her story, she reviews my story so her story is not that hard to find. Please don't hate me. I chose the path I did because I thought I could write a better story than anyone else.

* * *

_The vampires red eyes glowed as he spoke, "You know Severus, it's been so long and I was going to turn the boy for fun and because I am hungry, but I think I'll leave that to and change you instead."_

Snape hung limp from the vampire's hand as the vampire leaned in to bite. Several thoughts ran through Snape's mind, trying to find a way out. Then it came to him. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought about it, but he guessed that the force of the blow against the trunk might have clouded his thinking. He fingered his wand in his right hand.

The vampire froze half-way to his victim's neck and let out a short laugh.

"You've started to lose it you know, Severus. Ten years ago you were so hard to read," whispered the vampire. And without looking down, the vampire grabbed Snape's wand and tossed it aside.

Snape stood, horrified. His last weapon was gone. Yes, he knew a little wandless magic, but that wouldn't help him right now. He could hardly focus on anything other than the vampire standing in front of him.

His only hope lay in the brat that seemed to be frozen to the tree that was across the clearing. He hoped that the boy would do something, anything, and as the vampire approached his neck he saw the boy move towards them. Snape gave a silent prayer of thanks.

Harry raised his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!"

But the curse had barely left the boy's mouth when the vampire turned and sidestepped the blow faster than the blink of an eye, dragging Snape along with him.

The vampire turned and smiled, "Oh, so now you have finally channeled your Gryffindor bravery. It's about time. I thought for a while there that they had put you in the wrong House."

Harry froze. His face went blank. Then, just as suddenly, it filled with rage.

"Oh, so the Sorting Hat did try to put you in Slytherin, eh? Well, that makes sense considering that Severus here is your father," replied the vampire, who apparently had access to some unknown source of information.

Harry moved towards the vampire again and had just raised his wand when all of a sudden he was thrown against a tree, knocking him unconscious. The vampire twirled Snape's wand in her fingers and turned back to a wide-eyed and struggling Snape.

"Now, to finish without being interrupted," the vampire smiled and pressed her lips to Snape's neck in an almost teasing way. She slowly closed her mouth and sunk her sharp fangs into Snape's neck. As the poison rushed in and blood seeped out, Snape ceased moving; he was paralyzed in a matter of seconds. The vampire smiled and sucked happily as Snape's eyes began to close.

That last thing he heard was the vampire muttering, "See, Severus? That wasn't so bad. Now play nice with the Potter boy." Then Snape fell into darkness, where he was surrounded by extreme pain.

* * *

Snape woke up with a horrible headache and for a moment he couldn't remember what had happened. He lay on the ground, taking in the sounds and the smells. Everything was sharper somehow. He could smell the different trees. He could hear and distinguish every little sound around him. He was motionless, eyes closed, trying to remember what had happened and why he was in pain.

Then it hit him. A sharp pain tore at his stomach and made his throat run dry and his teeth itch. And while he was hurting he noticed a delicious scent. It smelled like, well, he couldn't quite place it, but it was overwhelming and the smell itself almost got rid of the itch in his teeth. However, he wanted complete relief, and to taste the wonderful smell.

Snape opened his eyes and noticed immediately that he could see, better then he had ever seen before. It was amazing; he could focus in on anything if he looked at it long enough. Snape would have laid there longer, but just as he was zooming in on a bird, trying to count all of it multi-colored feathers, he heard a moan.

Snape stood up quicker than any normal human could and looked at the source of the moan. It was a boy lying on the ground. He couldn't understand what a boy would be doing out in the forest or, for that matter, what he was doing out in the forest.

As he sat there staring at the boy, memories of the previous night came back to him: Potter cursing Draco, Potter running out of class, Snape ordering everyone to go to the Great Hall, then going to follow the Potter brat into the forest.

Snape walked over slowly to where Potter was laying and for a second he felt a bit of concern. He had sworn to protect the boy. After all, Potter was supposed to be the Dark Lord's downfall.

Kneeling down, he looked the boy over. The ache in his stomach increased as he got closer to the boy. His teeth itched worse than ever. He looked wide-eyed at the boy. Snape knew what the pain meant. It meant that he was thirsty. He was having a very hard time resisting. He wanted to bite so badly, just a drop he thought, he didn't want much.

Harry moaned again, and Snape turned to stare straight into the boy's face. Looking away, he could see various injuries on the boy. Several were cuts and he could see that the boy had broken his left ankle.

Snape didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he could bite the insolent brat. Dumbledore would never approve. He stood up, still looking at Potter. After thinking it over, he decided that as long as the boy was breathing, he had time to call for help. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't sure if he could trust himself around anyone. He was having a hard time as it was keeping himself from biting the boy that lay sprawled at his feet.

Looking around, he found his wand where the vampire had thrown it. Snape walked across the clearing and picked it up. He used his robes to clean off the fingerprints left by the vampire. After he was satisfied, Snape pointed his wand in the general direction of Hogwarts and said in an emotionless voice, "Expecto Patronum."

Turning back to look at the brat that would probably be his downfall, Snape could see that more damage had been done to the boy than what he had originally thought. Snape slowly made his way over to where the boy lay and knelt down beside him again.

Snape then waved his wand over the boy, trying to see what other damage had been done, and hoping that there was nothing internally damaged. The diagnostic spell came back negative for anything dangerous. Snape sighed, feeling a bit relieved.

Just then, Snape tensed. He heard something moving behind him. Standing up, he moved into a protective stance guarding the boy without realizing what he was doing. Snape raised his wand, ready for anything that might come. Snape focused in on the rustling bushes.

The ferns parted, giving way to the Headmaster with his wand held out in front of him. Snape sighed in relief and nodded to the boy at his feet.

"What happened, Severus? All you said in your Patronus is that you had found Harry, but clearly all is not right," said Dumbledore in a calm fashion, his eyes staring at the boy with concern.

"I'll tell you what happened, Headmaster," replied Snape in a soft, dangerous voice. He was feeling short-tempered. "This boy, this idiot, not only let his anger get to him, but cursed Draco in the process. Then, the foolish boy ran into the forest, hoping to escape punishment, no doubt. He ran into the worst possible thing that he could have run into, besides the Dark Lord. He ran into a vampire, Headmaster. And what did the boy do? He froze like a deer in a spotlight."

Dumbledore let out a sigh, "You are right, Severus. The boy has acted foolishly, but I can't really blame him."

"Can't Blame Him? Can't Blame Him!" shouted Snape, "This whole ordeal is entirely his fault. It's because of him, that I've, that I'm, I believe I'm a vampire."

Dumbledore turned from the boy lying on the ground to stare at Snape.

"What?" asked the Headmaster, looking gravely concerned.

"You heard me, Dumbledore. A vampire," murmured Snape.

"And Harry, what about Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"Fine," sneered Snape, "Your Golden Boy is just fine. He has a few broken bones, that's all."

Dumbledore walked over to kneel beside Harry and checked his pulse.

"Severus, I don't know what you consider fine, but I don't consider a skyrocketing pulse fine," said Dumbledore.

Snape came over and knelt down on the boys' other side. Snape felt a stab of pain in his stomach as he leaned closer. Then he smelt it, stronger than before. It was a sweet tangy smell that made his mouth water and his stomach growl. He hadn't noticed that it had gone away when he had left the boy, nor had he noticed it returned when the headmaster had come near.

Leaning over, Snape tried to find the source of the smell. The diagnostic spell should have found any serious injury. But Snape could tell that there was something seriously wrong with the boy. Then he saw it. The blood was coming from a hole in the boy's neck. And as Snape bent closer to it, he could distinguish the smell of a poisonous acid through the blood.

Snape looked up at stared at Dumbledore with fear in his eyes.

"The bitch poisoned him." said Snape quietly.

"Well, what do you think we should do?" asked Dumbledore. Dumbledore nearly added "for your son," but wisely held his tongue.

"I don't know, Headmaster," muttered Snape. "I don't know if he could survive the trip to the castle and even then I don't know if he'd live long enough for me to make a base-line solution for him."

Dumbledore stared up at the man, "Severus, I may be wrong, but I think that the only way to save him right now is to bite him."

Snape looked from Dumbledore back down at the boy, "I won't. I can't. Headmaster, I don't know how and I don't, I'm afraid that I might accidentally kill him. Otherwise, I might have actually bitten him already. It has taken a lot of energy to resist killing him."

Dumbledore peered back down at the boy. "Severus," his voice was hard, "If you don't bite him now then he will die. We have wasted too much time already."

Snape stared down at the boy, horrified.

"You must do it, Severus. There's no other choice. He either dies or he is turned. Right now, I would certainly prefer the latter. You should also know that there may be a chance of reversing it afterwards."

Snape looked up. "I hadn't thought of that. Now that I think about it, there may be a way to reverse this. The ministry won't like it."

"This chatter must stop, Severus. You must bite him now, he needs to be turned," said Dumbledore urgently. "You need to puncture his jugular. Drain his body and give him some of your own blood. Your poison will do the rest. But I have to go. I must not be around it when the hunger seizes you. You must remember to insert some of your own, do you understand?"

"Yes, Headmaster," replied Snape, turning slightly white at the thought, yet his mouth was watering. "Get back to the castle, I'll be along."

"Just remember, Severus: he will have a harder time controlling his hunger. You must have him hunt before returning. I'll go and see if I can find the answer to this problem," said Dumbledore, almost as if they were just trying to answer a particularly hard math problem. And with that, he got up, turned, and walked swiftly back up to the castle.

Snape turned back to the boy. His mouth watered as he turned the boy's head so that his jugular was better exposed.

Snape could barely hear Potter's weakening pulse. Slowly, he bent down and opened his mouth. Snape fought back the instincts that were screaming at him to bite down deep and hard. Instead, he bit down slowly. The boy give a little whimper that could have been a silent scream, then stooped all movement. Snape sunk his fangs in deeper, relishing the warmth beneath them.

He felt the poison seep into the boy and once the boy was quiet he started to drink in the sweet, tangy blood. At first, he could taste the foul poison on his tongue, it even burned him a bit as he lapped it up. Snape didn't really start to relish its taste until the blood went clean.

Snape sensed that the boy was almost out of blood, and soon he pulled himself away, though it was very hard to do so. Sitting up a bit, he looked down at the boy and saw that the hole on the other side of the boy's neck had started to heal.

Snape looked around. He had no idea how he was supposed to get the boy to take his blood. Thinking logically, Snape lifted his wrist to his mouth and, using one of his fangs, he slit his wrist.

Snape stared for a moment as dark blood seeped out, dripping down his wrist. Then, looking back at the boy, he used his other hand to open the boy's mouth and place his wrist above it. Snape watched as the blood slowly dripped in, thinking that the must be a faster way of doing it. Snape lifted his wrist from the boy's mouth and, using his fangs, made a deeper cut. The blood flowed out faster and, wasting no time, Snape replaced his wrist above the boy's mouth.

Time seemed to go by slowly, but Snape could see subtle changes happening in the boy. His cheek bones became more defined and his hair, if possible, became a darker shade of black. Color returned to the boy's cheeks and his canines lengthened and became more pointed.

The boy, though, still seemed to be unconsious. However, at times the boy's legs or arms would jerk.

The boy closed his mouth, sinking his new fangs in, and started to suck Snape's blood on his own. Snape's eyes widened in surprise, and he allowed it for a second before manually opening the boy's mouth and freeing his hand.

The boy stirred and opened his eyes. They stared dazedly past Snape and into the canopy above. Then the boy turned slowly to look at Snape.

Comprehension seemed to dawn on Potter's face as he suddenly sat up and looked at Snape.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mister Potter, "said Snape silkily as he stood up.

"Um, what happened?" asked brat-who-lived, "All I remember is being slammed against the tree, and… oh, shit the vampire."

"Thanks to you, Mister Potter, we are both vampires, for the mean time," said Snape as he moved the edge of the forest.

"What do you mean 'for the mean time?' There's a way to get back to normal?" asked the boy-who-never-seemed-to-die in a hopeful manner.

"The Headmaster is looking into it as we speak. For your sake, there'd better be a cure, or you will find this life short-lived. I still have not forgotten what you did to Draco," replied Snape darkly.

The brat hung his head but glared from beneath his bangs.

Snape sneered at him, "Now come, Potter. You must hunt before we return to the castle."

With that, Snape disappeared into the forest, followed closely by Harry.

* * *

A/N: Ok now don't throw tomatoes cause im allergic and well it wouldn't be pretty. I beg forgiveness to all of you who didn't want it to go this way, but do not fear for i have heard your complaints, i did it this way because i wanted some father and son bonding, it may or may not last long. lol. Sigh, well please Review, Tell me what you think. 


	11. Ch 11 To Be or Not to Be

**Chapter 11**

**To Be or Not to Be**

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** Disclaimer: Well, last time I looked neither Harry nor Snape were mine. I think I own my brain, but I think someone might have put a claim on that, too. My computer, at least, is definitely mine, at least I hope so. Hmmm….**

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, but finals are Hell. And I just haven't had any time. So yeah, here is chapter eleven. I hope that you enjoy it because I stayed up until 2:19 AM writing this. As always, a special thanks to Pointblank1 who corrects my mistakes. Oh, I have a poll on my profile. If you care about this story, you will go there. I think that's all… as always, enjoy and please review. **

* * *

"_The Headmaster is looking, as we speak, into it and for you sake there better be a cure. Or you will find this life short lived. I still have not forgotten what you did to Draco." replied Snape darkly._

_The Brat hung his head, but glared from beneath his bangs._

_Snape sneered at him, "Now come Potter, you must hunt before we return to the castle."_

_With that, Snape disappeared into the forest, closely followed by Harry._

Snape walked swiftly and silently ahead of the Potter boy, not even glancing back to see if the boy was following or not. Being careful not to step on any twigs, Snape listened for any sign of movement. Though he couldn't hear a sound, Snape saw that there was a slight brightness ahead, and headed towards the light.

Snape stood at the edge of a large clearing and waited for Potter to join him. Snape rolled his eyes with impatience. The boy was taking forever. Snape almost starting tapping his foot, but thought better of it. He waited silently, and finally, the boy stood next to him, ready.

Without glancing down, Snape spoke in no more than a whisper. "If you can see or smell anything, Potter, you've realized that there are deer in the clearing up ahead. You may try to use your wand, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work. Most of the wild animals in this forest aren't affected by magic. Note that I said animals, not creatures. There is a difference," said Snape snappily, for Harry had been just about to argue.

"So what am I supposed to do, Sir?" said Harry, emphasizing the "Sir" so it would have almost been audible to the human ear.

"Use your head, boy. What do you think you are supposed to do?" Snape turned down to look at the boy with on eyebrow slightly raised.

"Well, it seems the only choice I have is to hunt it down… as if I were a lion or something," said Harry, the last bit sarcastically.

"That's exactly what you have to do," said Snape, looking back up to gaze at the deer.

"Oh, well, that's simple, isn't it? I'll just try and remember what it was like being a lion in my former life and I'll have no problem."

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter, for your cheek," said Snape as he glared down at the boy.

Harry muttered under his breath. It was something about all of this being unfair, but Snape decided to ignore it. Snape looked back up at the deer and glanced at each one in turn, trying to find the weakest one in the herd. After watching for a bit, he noticed that there was a doe in the center of the group with a bit of a limp.

Snape looked back down at the boy, who was now eyeing the herd hungrily, despite himself. "Now Potter, will you listen and do as I say?" asked Snape in a silky yet dangerous voice.

The boy gave a quick nod, not taking his eyes off the deer. Even Snape was having a hard time focusing, his mouth to started to water at the sight.

"Alright, Potter, from what little I have read on the subject, vampires' instincts are stronger than those of any other predator alive. It is said that these instincts will take over if the vampire has need for them. This would be a good time to let those instincts take over. In addition to gaining food, it will let us know the extent to which you are in control of these instincts," said Snape slowly to make sure Potter absorbed every word. "Now, you see that deer in the middle with a limp? I would say that that one is your best hope of a meal. When I give the word, I want you to walk as quietly as you can into the clearing and let your instincts take over. It might sound strange, but I assure you that it will come quite naturally."

The boy nodded, practically drooling with hunger and anticipation. The boy's eyes began to change as he gave over to the predator within.

Snape watched in a trance as the boy's eyes changed from entirely green to green with red rims. They looked like Christmas tree ornaments. "Now," said Snape smoothly, "Let's see what you can do."

Potter turned to look up at him. Almost at once, the boy's eyes changed to red. The boy moved silently from the shelter of the trees to stand in the meadow. Lifting their heads, the deer stared at the boy and flicked their ears in his direction. When the boy froze, they went back to eating.

Harry moved silently forward, trying to get as close as he could before he had no other choice but to spring.

Slowly, he shrank into a crouching position, making himself as small as possible and maneuvered into the shadows of the nearby trees.

Snape watched from afar as the boy readied himself to strike. He could see the boy's eyes darting here and there, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. Snape silently urged the boy on, but he felt himself growing slightly impatient due to how long the Potter boy was taking.

Then Snape saw the boy tense, leap, and grab hold of the lame deer. It only took a second for the boy to sink his fangs into the deer's neck. By the time the rest of the herd had noticed and galloped away, the lame doe lay dead.

Snape stepped from the shadows of the trees and slowly made his way towards the boy. Potter was bent over the deer's neck, sucking greedily at the blood that flowed from the wound.

Snape moved to the other side of the deer and knelt down, watching the boy as he drank as if his life depended on it. Snape supposed it did.

When Potter had finally had his fill, he sat back and licked his lips while cleaning off every bit of what remained on his face. Snape watched as the boy blushed when he noticed that he was being watched.

"Sorry," muttered Potter as he turned away to wipe his hands clean with his robes.

"What are you apologizing for- your table manners or the fact that you didn't wait for me?" Snape asked in a mocking sneer. "Go over to the stream and wash up properly. What would the other professors say if I brought you back from the Forbidden Forest covered in blood?"

"You could tell them that I tripped over a stump and fell on a dead deer," replied Harry.

Snape refrained (with difficulty) from rolling his eyes as he leaned down and took a bite from the animal. The warm blood filled his mouth and he swallowed gratefully, taking away the small bit of hunger that gnawed at his stomach.

Snape licked his teeth as he slowly got to his feet. He then turned around to see the Potter boy sitting on a rock looking into the stream.

The boy looked around at the slight sound that was made by Snape's robes as he stood up.

"What would the other professors say if I returned from the Forbidden Forest with a Potions Teacher who had blood dripping from his lips?"

"You could tell them that I bit my tongue when I snapped at you for not washing up properly."

Potter rolled his eyes and looked back into the stream, "Well, I did my best, but I can't get the stain off my tie. It just won't wash off completely."

"Are you a Wizard or not? Use you head, Potter. Is there or is there not a spell that can clean up messes?"

"Oh, right!" Harry pulled off his tie, tapped it with his wand, and said, "Scourgify!" "Well, it worked."

Snape came close to saying something along the lines of 'I wonder why', but decided that it would be childish. Instead, he ignored the boy and walked over to the stream to judge his own reflection. It wasn't too bad, just a little blood in the corners of his mouth, which he quickly thumbed away.

Turning from the stream, Snape stared at the dead deer, trying to decide what to do with it. It seemed an awful waste to just burry it or vanish it, and there were only a few potions ingredients that could be obtained from a deer (all of which he didn't need any more of). They could just leave the deer there and hope that some other creature would smell it and finish it off, but that couldn't be guaranteed.

"What do you think we should do with the deer, Sir?"

"I don't know, Potter, what would you suggest we do?"

Harry was kind of taken aback by Snape's answer, but replied all the same, "Well, we could vanish it, but that would be a terrible waste. Or we could leave it and hope that some creature will come along and finish it, but that really isn't the best solution either because it might bring more predators to this part of the forest… We could cut it up and give it to Hagrid for one of his magical creatures."

"I'm sure Hagrid will appreciate something to attract thestrals for his next lesson."

"Er, what are thestrals?"

"You'll find out. I would hate to ruin the surprise," Snape smirked. "Come on, Mr. Potter. Let's start back to the castle. You will follow me to the Headmaster's office."

"The Headmaster's office, Sir?"

"Yes, for not only did you curse Draco, but you ran into the Forbidden Forest. It's forbidden for a reason, Mr. Potter. On top of that, you caused an incident in which yourself and a Hogwarts instructor were bitten by a vampire. I don't think even you can avoid expulsion this time, Mr. Potter," sneered Snape.

"But, Professor…" Harry stammered. He had no idea what to say. Harry couldn't argue that he didn't deserve to be expelled. In fact, upon looking back he felt that no amount of detentions would make up for what had happened tonight.

Snape raised an eyebrow, daring the brat to finish his sentence. When he was satisfied Potter was done speaking, Snape strolled away from the gaping brat, "Come, Mr. Potter. You have wasted much of my night and if you don't hurry up, I'll curse you as soon as you can say 'expelled.'"

Without looking back, Snape walked into the forest and out of the meadow.

The boy hurried to catch up and followed a short distance behind Snape. "What about the deer, Sir?"

"I will come back for it later. I need to fabricate some explanation as to why there is so little blood in the deer."

"Right, Sir."

They walked silently from the forest and in no time they were back in the moon-lit grounds. The lake sparkled as it reflected the moon and the innumerable stars. If it hadn't been for his current situation, Snape would have strolled around the edge of the lake, but there was no way he would get to do so tonight.

They made their way quietly up the castle steps and into the Main Hall. Meeting no one on their way, the pair quickly approached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"Blood Pops," said Snape with disdain.

The gargoyle slid quietly aside, and Snape and Harry stepped onto the moving staircase. Snape rapped twice upon the door before opening it without waiting for permission to enter.

Dumbledore looked up as the two entered the room. He looked from one to the other, a grave look on his face. That never boded well with Snape.

"Severus, Harry, please sit down. I have some grave news."

While the boy sat down, Snape remained standing. He preferred to take bad news standing up. The Headmaster offered them both lemon drops and hot chocolate as if that would solve everything.

Potter accepted his hot chocolate with a small nod, but after one sip he grimaced and pushed it away.

"Well, don't leave us in suspense, Headmaster. What is it?" snapped Snape.

"Right you are, Severus. This is worse news for you than for Harry, I'm afraid. You see, according to the only two books that go into detail, the cure to vampirism is limited. It often doesn't work properly if a person has taken, or even tasted, the blood of another. I'm so sorry Severus, but there is no known cure for you. You, Harry, on the other hand, can be cured as long as you don't partake of any human blood," The Headmaster's eyes twinkled sadly as they gazed at the pair, one doomed and the other saved.

Snape's mind reeled. A million curse words were flying through his head, and the first out of his mouth was, "Fuck!"

Dumbledore stepped in before Snape could work himself into a rage that was obviously on its way, "Now, Severus, that was uncalled for. This doesn't mean that there isn't a cure; it just means that one hasn't been found yet. The potion to cure Harry is going to be extremely difficult to make. I have no doubt that you could make it, but it involves some very rare ingredients and must stew for two months. In addition, the vampire in question must drink the potion while kneeling above a bleeding witch or wizard, and while on an empty stomach."

"You're trying to tell me that Potter's cure is just as difficult, if not more so, than my nonexistent one!" Snape spat. "Sorry, Headmaster, but that's like comparing Potter to a dog. At least a dog has brains."

"Severus! Be reasonable."

"Reasonable, reasonable, I am past reasonable, Headmaster, light-years away! It's all because of Potter that I'm stuck as a vampire, while all HE needs is a potion to return to normal. I'm _sorry_ Headmaster, but I just don't see how any sane person could remain reasonable under these conditions."

"We'll find a cure for you, Severus," replied Dumbledore calmly. "But Harry is the top priority. I need you to start on this potion as soon as possible."

"Why is it, Headmaster, that _saint Potter_ is top priority?" growled Snape, "Is it because he's the _chosen one,_ or is it because you prefer Potter over…"

"Severus," Dumbledore stood up, "That is enough! The only reason, and I mean the _only_ reason, that Harry is the top priority is because currently he is at the most risk. Sit down and think, Severus. Stop speaking and think."

Dumbledore waited, his eyes as hard as ice, as Snape slowly lowered himself into a chair.

"Severus, you are more removed from the students than Harry is. Yes, you have to teach classes, but you don't have to interact with them on the level that Harry does. Harry is also in constant close contact with Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, and he sleeps in a room with four other boys. Also, if he so much as attempted as attack a student, it would be in the_Daily Prophet_ before you could say 'Lemon drops.' Finally, Severus, Harry will have a much harder time resisting the urge to bite than you will."

"And pray tell, why is that, Headmaster?"

"Because he is a teenager, and young vampires have less control than adults. Not to mention, teenager blood is sweeter smelling than that of adults, especially to other teenagers. It has to do with hormones," said Dumbledore solemnly. "As we speak, Harry is fighting the urge to bite me."

Snape looked and, sure enough, Potter had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He would have looked like he was in a trance except for the fact that he was biting down on his forefinger. He was indeed having a hard time, while Snape barely felt anything at all.

"If I gave him a potion to dull his sense of smell, would it help?"

"It wouldn't hurt. This book here has some other suggestions, but I don't think that any would go unnoticed…For example, they suggest that a vampire wear garlic around their neck and rub other really potent stuff on one's body. Nothing usable," sighed Dumbledore.

"Well, let's call a house elf and I'll have it fetch a bottle of liquid rhino. We will see if that works."

"Dobby," said Dumbledore.

With a crack, Dobby the house elf appeared in the Headmaster's study. "Yes, Master Dumbledore, Sir? Is there anything I can get you? Some more tea? Some lemon drops?" asked the house elf with a huge grin.

"None of that tonight, but thank you, Dobby. I would like you to please go down to Professor Snape's stores and bring us a bottle of Liquid Rhino. Everything is alphabetized, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find. Please get it and bring it right back," said Dumbledore kindly.

"Yes, Sir," squeaked Dobby. With a snap, he disappeared.

They waited in silence. Snape looked over to where Potter was sitting and noticed that the boy had drawn blood from his hand. The Headmaster, on the other hand, was staring out the window watching the sunrise. They didn't have to wait long before there was a "Crack" and Dobby reappeared.

Dobby handed a greenish bottle to the Dumbledore. "Is this it, Sir?"

"Yes, Dobby, thank you. Kindly don't tell anybody about this, if you please," replied Dumbledore.

"Dobby won't say a word if Master Dumbledore says not to," squeaked Dobby, and he was gone.

"Right," sighed Dumbledore tiredly, "here, Severus. I'll let you pour it out. You know more than I do about how much Harry should take."

Snape took the dusty green bottle and, taking out his wand, he summoned a shot glass. Using a stopper, Snape measured out thirty drops of the green potion. After he had replaced the cap of the bottle, Snape picked up the glass and swirled the potion three times clockwise and five times counterclockwise.

Snape set the glass gown and waited. When the potion had stopped swirling, it had turned acid green and started to emit a slight glow.

Picking it up again, he turned and held it out to the boy. "Potter, open your eyes. I want you to drink this. It should dampen your sense of smell and make things easier for you."

The boy slowly opened his eyes and barely looked at the glass in his professor's hand before taking it, using his free hand. He looked down at it and, deciding that it wasn't going to kill him, he swallowed the potion in one gulp.

The boy shuddered at the taste, scraping his tongue on his front teeth in a desperate attempt to rid his mouth of it.

Snape waited for the potion to kick in as Harry continued to shudder.

After about five minutes, the boy became still. For a moment, all was quiet.

"Feel any better, Mr. Potter?" asked Snape, breaking the silence.

"A little bit. I can't smell Professor Dumbledore, and the hunger has died almost completely… but it almost feels like I have a head cold without having the snuffles," replied Potter in a slightly more nasal voice than usual.

"Well, that's the least of our worries," smirked Snape.

Harry looked down at his bleeding hand and watched in amazement as his finger slowly healed itself, a pleasant side effect of being a vampire.

"Headmaster, now that Mr. Potter is taken care of for the time being, I think that we should make a decision about his punishment. As you well know, he not only cursed Mr. Malfoy, but he ran into the _Forbidden _Forest and _endangered_ both himself and a certain professor, not to mention that he got said people turned into vampires," whispered Snape in a deadly voice. "I think that he deserves nothing less than expulsion, of course."

"Now really, Severus! You know as well as I do that we can't just expel him. There are far too many reasons not to, most of which are for Harry's own safety. No, it's completely out of the question. I do agree, however, that he has been extremely foolish and his actions cannot go without punishment." Dumbledore looked at Harry seriously over his half-moon spectacles.

Snape noticed that Harry didn't look nearly as guilty as he usually did when Dumbledore was upset. In fact, Snape would've guessed that Harry was _relieved_ to be getting off so easily, the little brat.

Snape glared at the headmaster, "Then what do you suggest, Headmaster- detention for the rest of his life at Hogwarts, and perhaps removal from the Quidditch team?"

"Actually, if it's alright with you, Severus, I think Harry's punishment shall be this: Harry, you will have detention with Severus for as long as either of you remains in this condition. You will also help him with anything he sees fit. Professor Snape will set your detention dates and make them as often as likes."

Harry stared at the Headmaster, mouth gaping, for a few moments before he found his voice. "What? Snape will have me in there every night, Professor! Please, I mean… he bit me! He turned me into…into this… a vampire. It can't be entirely my fault…"

"You are delusional, Potter," snapped Snape as he stood up. "This is entirely your fault. You are a vampire because I had no other choice. You could either have died or changed into what you are now, an arrogant teenage vampire with a big head and a small brain-"

"Severus, I have had enough of this talk. You will stop insulting a Hogwarts student in this manner or you will leave my office," interrupted Dumbledore, his eyes deadly.

"Now is as good a time as any," replied Snape icily. With that, he strolled over to the door and wrenched it open. Snape paused. "Mr. Potter, I expect you in my office tomorrow at 6 AM. Do not be late. Also, the potion must be taken every ten hours- thirty drops, swirled as I did, then let it settle and drink." He swept out of the room, black robes billowing out behind him.

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**Arthur's Note: Please visit my poll, leave me a review, and have a safe and happy holiday!**

**Oh! I almost forgot, or i did and now I'm telling you. I started a new story and it should be up so go check it out. I think it's a really good story, so I would like to know what you think it so far. **


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